


Morix: Web of Mistrust

by digitaldreams



Series: Morix [3]
Category: Original Work, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Morix, lawyers and gay yes, third in the morix series, we're here again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 55
Words: 276,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23689216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: In the aftermath of the Morix Law Offices invasion, life has fallen back into a routine. Opposition only made the group grow stronger, and they are more determined than ever to face the future confidently. However, this peace is not set to last, and the Oracle project is once again threatened when an anonymous figure becomes intent on destroying the agency once and for all. Two new lawyers join the group to aid in the expansion of the Oracle of the Law, but their help can only go so far when the horizon is shrouded in darkness. The unknown enemy seems to have dominion over the legal system, leaving the agency to struggle through what may be its final days.In order to survive, the team will have to break through the web of mistrust looming before them.
Relationships: Original Character/Original Character
Series: Morix [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330241
Kudos: 1





	1. Turnabout Deception, Part 1

"I'm glad to see that you decided to speak with me... I wasn't sure if you would choose to come and visit me, but I'm happy that you made this choice."

_"Listen, we both have our reasons for being here. This is a mutually beneficial conversation, so it isn't all about what you want to find out."_

"I suppose you do have a point there... What is it you wished to ask me about?"

_"I want to know more about the previous head of Interpol... Cade Green, I believe his name was. He was the leader of the group roughly fifteen years ago, but he went missing."_

"What makes you so sure that I know anything about him? Perhaps you're jumping to conclusions a bit too quickly without thinking of the consequences."

_"Don't treat me like a child. I know a lot more than you realize, and I will get the answers I seek. It's just a matter of time."_

"If you truly know more than I expect, then I must ask... How much do you know about the Oracle of the Law?"

_"Don't change the subject! I asked my question first, and I expect an answer to it before we move on to your topic!"_

"I will do no such thing until you tell me the truth behind--"

_"That's not how this is going to work. I'm not going to let you push me around like this. Answer the damn question already."_

"I refuse."

_"Then--"_

"...I must thank you for subduing her, but I must ask one thing... What have you done...?!"

**March 12**

**Defendant Lobby No. 1**

**9:35 AM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

I followed my brother into the defendant lobby while rubbing at my head gently. I already had a sneaking suspicion that today's trial was going to be a chore and a half to deal with. I wasn't looking forward to it in the slightest. 

Cotoli sat down next to me on the couch, letting out a small sigh. "I know that this is a lot to deal with out of the blue, but... We can handle this. I know that we're capable of handling this," he told me, though I got the sneaking suspicion that he was saying it more to reassure himself than me. 

"I know," I murmured with a shake of my head. "You're right. You're definitely right." I also knew that he definitely wasn't buying my words, though to be fair, I was lying through my teeth, so perhaps he was right to have a bit of doubt. 

Quite some time had passed since the case where we learned the truth about Cormous Arme. In fact, it had been nearly a year since then. Our agency seemed to hold its breath each time a case came in, but nothing ever seemed to happen. We were waiting for an inevitable explosion that never came even months after everything seemed to be nice and sorted, leaving us in a state of only half acceptance when it came to the peace that had fallen upon the city. 

It had only been recently that we were able to come to terms with the fact that everything was fine. There was nothing for us to worry about, and we had been panicking as a result of what had happened previously. Life was settling back into a routine, and there weren't any groundbreaking cases taking place. The Oracle project was even in a place of security, something unexpected for us all. I hadn't been able to truly step back and relax while at work in ages, but with the lack of pressure on the legal system, I could finally enjoy myself fully, though the constant worry of a sudden fracture in the rest of the legal world seemed to always hold me back. 

Of course, everything that we had been enjoying regarding peace fell apart the morning before. Cotoli and I had been enjoying ourselves when we received a phone call from the hospital saying that somebody had gotten hurt. We rushed over there to find out that Polly had been attacked while at someone else's house. She had gotten a concussion thanks to a blow to the back of her head. The culprit was unknown unfortunately. 

That was when the media got a hold of it. A suspect was arrested, and he was brought down to the detention center. Cotoli and I, needing to know the truth as soon as possible, volunteered to take on the case. It would be a heavy emotional burden to bear, yes, but we wanted to know what had happened, and being the primary investigators would be the best way for us to learn everything we could possibly have been curious about. 

We had volunteered to defend the suspect, one Collack Strann. Mr. Strann had invited Polly over to his home the day before to speak with her. They seemed to be able to talk to each other about matters of importance, though I didn't know the exact details. Polly was still recovering, and we hadn't been able to speak with her since the attack. She was meant to be testifying, though I wasn't entirely sure as to if that would be a good idea. 

As for Mr. Strann, we hadn't been able to hear from him much either. Since we took on his defense so late into the day, we didn't get to speak with him before the detention center closed. We were going into this trial completely clueless, and I was not at all happy about it. Cotoli didn't seem too pleased with the idea either, but he was hiding it much better. While I was tense and couldn't stop frowning, he had a neutral expression on his face as he stared at the floor in consideration of what we were going to have to do. 

If all went according to plan, we would be able to speak to both Polly and Mr. Strann during the trial. Chances were that they would be testifying at some point or another. If there was another witness, I hadn't heard about them, and neither had Cotoli. He surely would have mentioned it if there was someone else we would need to speak with during the trial. 

Luckily for us, we were going to be able to cooperate with the prosecution. Since Polly was occupied in the hospital due to her attack, Anton had stayed at the Prosecutor's Office for most of the day yesterday. It felt like it had been a thousand years since I had seen him though it had just been a few hours. 

Lily's older brother, Prosecutor Roberto Shield, volunteered to take on the case to find the case. Anton was practically glued to his side afterwards, not wanting to be left alone when he was the one who could lead him to the truth. Prosecutor Shield seemed to have a soft spot for the boy and was happy to watch over him. They likely weren't able to get in much investigating either, but they still probably prepared as much as they could. 

Cotoli nudged me gently, snapping me out of my daze. I felt like I was going to jump six feet in the air from surprise. I was more spaced out than I initially thought, it seemed. 

"What is it?" I asked once I had somehow regained my composure. 

"I think that our client has arrived," Cotoli replied, taking my hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze to calm me down after my brief moment of panic. I relished in the action, glad to have him there to reassure me when I got jittery and nervous. 

I looked up to see a man had entered the defendant lobby. I didn't recognize him, so I figured that he was the client Cotoli had mentioned. He had white hair and skin so pale that it seemed to combine with his hair in some places. There were a few streaks of black here and there, though they were somewhat difficult to see due to how small and few they were. He had deep blue eyes so dark that the ocean would not survive being swallowed by them. He wore dark clothing as well, though I didn't observe it in further detail. 

Cotoli got to his feet, and I followed his example. I didn't exactly want to get up, still overwhelmed by the action-packed events of the day before, but I knew that I didn't have any other options if we wanted to find the truth behind the attack. I trailed after Cotoli as we approached the newcomer, and I clasped my hands together tightly in front of my chest, messing with the black fingerless gloves I always wore. It was a nervous habit for me, and not a good one, but I knew well I wasn't going to be able to break it while we were standing around the defendant lobby. I was too stressed to bother thinking about it with the trial about to start.

"You must be Collack Strann," Cotoli said, reaching out one hand with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Cotoli Morix, and this is my younger sister, Chrysalis Starr. We'll be defending you in court today."

The man, Mr. Strann, it seemed, reached out one hand to return the handshake. "I am Collack Strann," he said simply. He examined Cotoli before turning his attention to me, looking over us carefully. I kept my gaze as neutral as possible, hiding my nerves to ensure he didn't rattle me. One thing I had learned as the leader of the Oracle project was that I couldn't let anyone get to me. I had to keep up a mask as often as I could to make sure nobody caught onto me. 

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, keeping my voice deadpan as I stared up at him. There was something akin to a glare in my eyes, but I didn't really care if I was making a poor first impression. I didn't need to be friends with him. I was trying to figure out the truth behind the case that had hurt Polly, not get along with our client. He gave me a bad feeling, if I was being perfectly honest. 

"Nothing," Mr. Strann said after a brief pause that felt like it stretched on for a thousand years. He shook his head before looking to us once again, his eyes locking with Cotoli's when he spoke next. "I have to ask... You said your surname was Morix, yes? Do you happen to work at Morix Law Offices?"

"I do, as a matter of fact," Cotoli replied. "What about it?"

"I have always been curious about your agency," Mr. Strann answered. "You were involved with the Interpol kidnapping case that nearly exposed the truth behind the Oracle of the Law, bringing Occisor to light in the process. You revealed a lost agent of the Emsthorpe crime ring, a feat that has not been pulled off in quite a long time. I must say that I'm rather impressed with you and your agency. I've been observing your group for quite some time, and I didn't expect to meet with you when you were defending me from assault charges of all things."

"I'm honored to hear that we have gained such a reputation," Cotoli said with a small smile and a light chuckle. "I didn't realize that we had such a large impact on the rest of the city. I suppose we have been lucky, or perhaps unlucky, enough to be involved with most of the significant cases as of late... That would earn us quite a bit of renown, for better or for worse."

I looked up at him with a small frown, not understanding how he was willing to be so forthcoming with information. I suppose that he was better at hiding his distaste for humanity than I was. He could maintain a casual conversation with someone he didn't know well, but I wound up just avoiding anybody who asked me about things outside my comfort zone. 

"I would love to learn more about what cases your agency has been involved with where Oracle is concerned. I understand that most of that information has gone public due to the general fascination with the spy, but I want to look into it myself," Mr. Strann remarked. 

I frowned heavily, unable to keep myself from glaring at him. He was being far too friendly and open on the matter. I looked up to Cotoli, hoping that he would cast me a brief glance to see that I was so uncertain. 

"Perhaps we can save that conversation for after the trial," Cotoli suggested, looking over to the doors to the courtroom. "We have to ensure that you are cleared of these false charges before starting up any other chats. Speaking of, perhaps we should enter the courtroom sooner rather than later. We have a lot of preparing to do before everything gets started, after all."

Mr. Strann hesitated before nodding and walking to the courtroom. He didn't seem to like that Cotoli had cut the conversation short so suddenly, but he didn't say anything about it, instead leaving me to stand alone with my brother. 

"I have a bad feeling about this guy," I murmured. "Maybe it's because I'm feeling like garbage because of everything that happened yesterday, but... I don't know. I just don't think I want to talk to him much after this trial ends."

"You aren't the only one who feels that way," Cotoli agreed. "I think that there's something strange about him as well, but I don't know how to describe it. Maybe it was because he was so open about discussing the Oracle of the Law. I know that's what our agency has gained a reputation for, but... I don't know many people who are that forthcoming with their questions."

"We'll have to figure it out later on," I sighed, shaking my head. "Let's leave it there for now and head into the courtroom. I want to find the truth behind the person who attacked Polly, and we can't exactly do that while we're standing out here."

Cotoli nodded and took my hand in his once again. He gave it a gentle squeeze. "We're going to find the truth behind this case," he assured me. "I promise. I know that it's looking rough right now, but we've found our way out of dark situations before, and I know this will be the same."

I nodded silently, not bothering to say anything that would go against that. I was too tired to argue with him or think about the worst case scenario. I just wanted to get this over with so that I could go back home and rest. This was the first significant case in ages, and I had gotten used to the unsteady peace without even realizing it. It was shattered before I could truly enjoy it, and I hated that this was the case. 

**March 12**

**Courtroom No. 1**

**10:00 AM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

When I walked into the courtroom, I felt as if my body was being weighed down by lead. Everything was hurting deep down, and I wanted to be anywhere but there. The emotional stress of my unexpected peace suddenly being destroyed was a lot greater than I could have expected, and Polly getting attacked only made it worse. Plus, there was the fact that our client appeared to be something of an asshole. For the most part, I did what I could to avoid vulgar accusations like that, but given that I was already in a bad mood, I couldn't help the thought that echoed in my head over and over. 

I could tell that Cotoli was just as stressed as I was, but he was much better at hiding it than I ever could have been. We were both good at acting, just in different ways. He had a loose smile on his face to hide how much he was screaming on the inside, but I chose to glare at everyone who looked at me wrong. This trial was already aggravating me, and it hadn't even started yet. 

"We're going to figure this out," Cotoli assured me, able to tell without even hearing me speak that I was still not feeling great. He smiled gently to me as he shifted around with the papers he had his limited information about the trial written on. 

I nodded silently, unsure of what to say. I didn't trust myself to be able to speak without my voice failing me somehow. I didn't want to show any weakness so long as Mr. Strann was around. Something about him still bothered me, and I couldn't have him seeing through the mask. For the sake of my identity and job as Oracle, I had to keep him away. Unlike Neptune, he didn't seem like he would turn around later on. I had been unsure of her at first, but she gave off different vibes than him. Mr. Strann just bothered me whenever he looked in my direction, and it made me feel queasy just to think about. 

The gavel slammed down against the podium, and I jumped slightly, frowning bitterly at the weakness I had been forced to show for that brief moment. I didn't look over to Mr. Strann to see if he had noticed, not in the mood to give him the time of day as I stared up at the judge. 

Judge Ervan Frost was the one presiding over this case, and he held his gavel in one hand. He passed it back and forth between his fingers before setting it down no long afterwards when he realized he had the attention of everyone in the courtroom. "Court is now in session for the trial of Collack Strann," he declared, glancing around at the people sitting in the gallery before setting his attention on me and Cotoli. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

Cotoli nodded firmly. He didn't look my direction, likely knowing that I was just as prepared as he was without needing confirmation. "The defense is ready," he declared, his hand resting on the bench before him. He seemed oddly calm, though I knew there was more rage and hate than he could ever hope to describe bubbling beneath the surface. He wanted to find the truth behind who had attacked Polly more than anything, and this trial was only means to reach that end to him. It was hard to be overly passionate given how emotionally burned out he was, and I couldn't blame him for being upset about all that had taken place. 

I looked over to the other end of the courtroom soon after, seeing Prosecutor Shield standing next to Anton just as I had suspected. Anton seemed oddly calm next to him, something that I never would have anticipated given how terrifying Prosecutor Shield is at a first glance. I've heard from Lily that he's really a softie deep down, and I guess that Anton has picked up on that as well. He's more perceptive than you would expect at first. 

"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Shield replied. There was a fire in his eyes that I had seen before, and I could tell that he was just as eager to find the truth behind the attack on Polly as the rest of us were. He often wore a mask that made it seem like he didn't care about most things, but he was much kinder than he let on. He cared about Polly as well, it seemed, and he was going to do what he could to make sure that everything was revealed about what happened to her. 

"Prosecutor Shield, please give your opening statement to the court," Judge Frost said, looking to Prosecutor Shield with an expectant gaze. 

I clenched my fingers into a tight fist, ready to hear whatever it was that was coming next. We still didn't know that much about this case, so this opening statement was going to wind up being one of the most important parts about the trial for us. I don't think I could ever begin to say how much I hated the legal system for giving us so little time that we weren't able to investigate.

"The crime took place at the Strann residence," Prosecutor Shield began. "The defendant, Collack Strann, invited the victim over to his house to share a conversation with her about some unknown topic. They spoke for quite some time, but their conversation didn't end well. The victim, Polly Burke, was hit on the back of the head. She was concussed by the blow and fell unconscious. The police were called by the defendant, and when they investigated the scene, they found that Collack Strann himself was the most suspicious person there. He was pinned as a suspect for the case and arrested soon after."

"I wonder what they were talking about," I murmured, placing one hand on my chin as I thought. I wasn't sure if we were going to get the answer until Polly got the chance to testify for herself, but I could wonder until then. It wouldn't hurt, right?

"I can't imagine that they're going to hold out on us entirely, so she'll probably testify a bit later in the trial about what happened... If there aren't any witnesses, perhaps Mr. Strann himself will take to the stand as well," Cotoli whispered to me. 

"I wish that he hadn't asked us about the Oracle project while we were out in the lobby. It would have been much better if we could have heard details about the case rather than just him blabbing on about how curious he is about that damn spy," I grumbled with a roll of my eyes. I was used to seeming like I hated the Oracle of the Law to throw people off my trail, and I shot Mr. Strann a glare out of the corner of my eye. He hadn't heard us talking, but I still wanted him to know that something about him bothered me. 

Cotoli didn't give me a response, instead focusing his attention back on the case at hand, but I knew that he was thinking it just as much as I was. Why the hell had Mr. Strann insisted on asking us about Oracle rather than telling us about his alibi? What a frustrating man. 

"The defense would like to know what it was that the victim and defendant were discussing the day of the crime," Cotoli declared, frowning slightly as he looked to Prosecutor Shield. "I'm afraid that we didn't hear much on the subject of this case since we were put on it at the last minute."

"I was thinking that perhaps we could do something better," Prosecutor Shield said. "After the detective investigating the case testifies, we could have her come to the stand and explain what happened the day of the crime. She's the only one who can tell us about what happened at the time aside from our other witness, though she would naturally know more on the matter."

"Other witness?" I echoed, realizing belatedly that I was loud enough for the prosecution and judge to hear me. I didn't really care though, too shocked by the idea that there was another witness in the first place. I sure as hell didn't see that one coming. 

"Yes. There was one other witness who was present at the time of the crime, but we won't be hearing from him for quite a while since we need to hear the details behind the case first," Prosecutor Shield replied. "For the time being, I suggest that we call the lead detective to the stand to ask her about the details of the case. She can perhaps fill in a few gaps in what we know about the case."

"Of course," Cotoli nodded. "I think that hearing from her would greatly benefit us. We didn't even have time to speak with the defendant due to how long it took us to take on this case, so that would help us out more than we could possibly tell you."

"The prosecution wishes to call Vera Wattson to the witness stand!" Prosecutor Shield declared, pointing to the stand. 

A few seconds later, Detective Wattson appeared and walked up to the stand, taking her place. She had a small smile on her face, and I must admit that it was calming to see her looking so relaxed and calm. It helped me a little bit to calm the screaming of the storm raging in my head, and I took a deep breath, trying to focus on her and relax. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed gently. 

"My name is Vera Wattson. I'm a homicide detective working at the local precinct," Detective Wattson replied with a small nod. "I'm also the lead detective on this trial, in case you haven't already noticed."

"Would you please give the court a few details about this case? We would like to hear a breakdown of the events that took place the day of the crime in order that they occurred," Judge Frost told her. 

"Of course," Detective Wattson nodded. "I'll start from the beginning. If you have any questions, feel free to ask for more detail. I get the feeling you'll need it."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Events of the Assault ~**

_-"The victim went to visit the defendant at his house yesterday when the crime took place."_

_-"I'm afraid we aren't aware as to what they were discussing, but the victim herself can explain that in more detail later on."_

_-"The conversation escalated into an argument, and the two began to yell at each other in anger."_

_-"The victim was hit on the back of the head by a vase, knocking her unconscious immediately."_

_-"The vase somehow remained intact, and while there was blood found on it surface belonging to the victim, no fingerprints were lifted."_

_-"The defendant called the police soon after the crime took place, and when they arrived, he was arrested as the primary suspect for the crime."_

"I suppose that helps us out a little bit..." I murmured. I already knew exactly what Cotoli was going to aim for when it came to finding a weakness in that testimony. It was a rather glaring contradiction when looked at from a logical standpoint, and he had never been the type to let things like that pass him by. 

"I think that this is going to be rather easy," Cotoli said, nudging me gently with his elbow. "See? I told you that we would have everything under control, Chrysalis."

"I just have to wonder where this is going to lead us afterwards... Perhaps she'll get off the stand after this initial testimony and let Polly tell us about what happened," I said with a small shrug. "Only time will tell."

"Please begin your cross-examination now," Judge Frost instructed. 

"We'll get right to it," Cotoli nodded. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Events of the Assault ~**

_-"The victim went to visit the defendant at his house yesterday when the crime took place."_

_-"I'm afraid we aren't aware as to what they were discussing, but the victim herself can explain that in more detail later on."_

_-"The conversation escalated into an argument, and the two began to yell at each other in anger."_

_-"The victim was hit on the back of the head by a vase, knocking her unconscious immediately."_

_-"The vase somehow remained intact, and while there was blood found on it surface belonging to the victim, no fingerprints were lifted."_

_-"The defendant called the police soon after the crime took place, and when they arrived, he was arrested as the primary suspect for the crime."_

"Objection!"

Cotoli placed one hand on his chin as he thought aloud. "I have to ask you... Why would the defendant call the police if he was the one who committed the crime? That would draw attention to him, wouldn't it?" he asked. "Perhaps it would make more sense if someone else committed the crime and then called the police. After all, why would the culprit be the one who call for help?"

"I must admit that it doesn't make much sense," Detective Wattson murmured. "I wasn't involved with making the arrest. I was placed on this case belatedly as well, and all that I heard came from the officer who was looking over the incident initially."

"Perhaps he called the police to draw attention away from himself. After all, if he called the police, then people wouldn't think that he committed the crime," Prosecutor Shield suggested. 

"I think that it's time for us to hear from the victim of the crime herself. Perhaps she'll be able to shed a bit more light on what happened when the crime took place," I said. "I believe that she will be able to fill in the missing gaps of information that we aren't aware of at the moment."

"I agree," Judge Frost agreed with a nod. "Witness, you may step down from the stand at this time."

Detective Wattson and stepped away from the podium. "If you need anything else from me, feel free to ask later on," she said. She walked back to her place soon after, leaving the witness stand vacant once again. 

"Alright, prosecution," Judge Frost said once the stand was open. "You may call your next witness at this time. I assume the defense does not object to this."

"No, the defense doesn't have any objections," Cotoli confirmed. I could tell that he was proud that we were able to get through the first testimony without any major hiccups. Maybe this wouldn't go as horrible as I thought. 

"The prosecution calls Polly Burke to the witness stand!" Prosecutor Shield declared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New book dab dab dab dab dab
> 
> -Digital


	2. Turnabout Deception, Part 2

**March 12**

**Courtroom No. 1**

**10:25 AM**

**Cotoli Morix**

I watched as Polly shuffled her way up to the witness stand. To put it simply, she looked miserable. I couldn't help but bite my lip unhappily at seeing her in such a state. She appeared as if she hadn't slept in days, though I knew that wasn't the case. Her hair was disheveled, and there was a certain glare in her eyes that I hadn't seen in quite some time. Polly yawned as she finally found her place behind the stand. She glanced around the courtroom before leaning forward against the witness stand, shutting her eyes against the pressing eyes of everyone in the area. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost declared with a firm nod once Polly was settled in. 

Polly managed to pull herself back to her full height somehow, though I could tell that it was the last thing she wanted to do in that moment. She refused to meet anyone's eyes, instead staring down at the ground as she spoke. "Polly Burke. Prosecutor," she said bluntly. She didn't bother to mince words, too tired and upset to bother drawing out her introduction any longer than it needed to be. 

I stole a brief glance over to the prosecutor's bench to see how Anton was holding up. He looked absolutely miserable. He couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to stare at her or look anywhere but her slouched form. It was likely reassuring to him to see that she was alive and alright, but he wasn't used to seeing her show such weakness. Polly didn't even bother putting on a show of being alright. What would be the point? It would take too much of what little energy she still had remaining after the attack. 

"You were at the defendant's house the day of the crime, yes?" Prosecutor Shield asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Polly nodded. "I was," she said simply. 

Prosecutor Shield hesitated for a moment, as if expecting her to say more on the matter, but when she didn't, he continued the conversation. "I am under the impression that you got into an argument with the defendant while you were there. You were discussing something serious, but you were unable to finish your conversation after you had this large argument. Is this correct?" he questioned. 

"Yeah," Polly replied. "I take it that you'll want to hear about what we wound up talking about, right?"

"If you could tell us, that would be great," I told her. I shot her a gentle smile with hopes that it would calm her down at least slightly. She clearly wasn't in a great mood, and testifying was not going to help that. If I could do a little bit to ease her burden, then that was fine with me. Anything to help her out was a step in the right direction after all that she had been through over the course of the past few days.

Polly nodded slowly. "Well, I went over there because I had questions about a previous head of Interpol," she answered. 

"Please explain what you mean by that," Prosecutor Shield instructed with a light frown. 

"Interpol has gone through three leaders within the past twenty years. First, there was a man named Cade Green. He was the leader of the group for quite some time, and his leadership was strong. However, his true name was exposed, and he wound up having to leave behind the company to ensure that no harm came to his family. He didn't just leave the company though. He disappeared off the face of the planet completely," Polly explained. "I suppose that I've always been curious about cases like this, and I decided to investigate it on the side. I wound up running into Collack Strann's name during my investigation, and I went to see him to talk about what he potentially knew about Cade Green."

Prosecutor Shield nodded slowly. "I see... Was there anything else that you two discussed while you were there?" he asked. 

"As a matter of fact, yes. We talked about one other important subject, that being the one and only Oracle of the Law," Polly told him. She let out a heavy sigh at saying the name, shutting her eyes and rubbing at her temple as if the mere existence of Oracle gave her a headache. 

It sure didn't give the viewers in the gallery a headache. They all burst into chatter, whispering to each other about what this could possibly mean. I did my best to block out the noise, instead glancing around the courtroom at the key figures that could be bothered by such a subject coming up. 

First, I looked to Chrysalis. On the outside, it looked as if she didn't care that this subject had come out, and all she did was stare at Polly. I could tell that this was all a mask she was keeping up to make sure that nobody found her behavior odd, but I thought she was hiding it rather well. 

Next, there was Mr. Strann. He didn't seem to care, though there was a small frown on his face. He didn't have any notable expression on his face though, so I chose to ignore him for the most part. I moved on to the next person who required my attention. 

I gazed at the prosecution after my examination of Mr. Strann was finished. Prosecutor Shield had a look of shock on his face, but he didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by the subject coming up. He clearly wasn't aware that his younger sister was part of the Oracle project, so it didn't get on his nerves in the slightest. 

Anton was rubbing his hands together nervously, not liking the idea of the Oracle project as far as I could tell. He didn't meet anyone's gaze, instead choosing to have a staring contest with the wood on the bench before him. I sent him my silent sympathy, hoping he could understand it despite the distance between us. 

My thoughts were disrupted when Judge Frost's gavel slammed down onto the podium. The chatter in the courtroom slowly came to a halt. "Order!" he exclaimed fiercely. 

All attention shifted back to Polly at this declaration. "Yeah. He thought that I knew something about Oracle. That's the simple way of explaining it, at the very least," she said with a small shrug. "As for if that's actually the case... It isn't. Why would I be involved with somebody like that? I prefer to think of myself as an upstanding citizen who wouldn't associate with a spy, but that's just me. Maybe that's why I got so upset when Mr. Strann started accusing me of being involved without any evidence."

I frowned, looking over to Chrysalis. "We're not talking to him about the Oracle of the Law once this is over," she hissed to me, rolling her eyes in the direction of our client. I couldn't help but agree, and I gave her a ghost of a nod before turning back to Polly. 

"I can certainly understand why a blind accusation like that would get under your skin," Prosecutor Shield said with a nod. "I assume that this is when the argument between you two started. After he accused you of being involved with the Oracle of the Law, you began to fight, and if I had to guess, it led up to you being attacked, yes?"

"It did, as a matter of fact," Polly answered with a sigh and a shake of her head. "I assume that you'll be wanting to hear about what happened during our argument, right?"

"Yes. The court would like to hear all that you remember from the time of the fight," Prosecutor Shield confirmed. "The prosecution asserts that the argument was the motive for the crime. When the two began to fight, the defendant lashed out violently and attacked the victim, prompting her to fall unconscious."

"I suppose that this does make sense," Chrysalis murmured. "I somehow get the feeling that Mr. Strann is not the best person when it comes to social interaction. However, our job here is to find the truth, and we aren't going to let this case get in the way of that goal. For the sake of Polly, we have to figure out who actually attacked her."

I nodded. "I feel the same. For now, let's listen to what she has to say on the matter. This will probably be the best way for us to learn more about the case. Prosecutor Shield isn't going to want to trust the testimony of Mr. Strann since he's the suspect, so we'll just have to rely on what she has to say," I said. 

"Please begin your testimony now," Judge Frost instructed, looking down to Polly. 

"Alright," Polly replied. She took in a deep breath before letting it out and starting her testimony properly. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Our Argument ~**

_-"I started off our conversation by asking him more about the former leader of Interpol."_

_-"He didn't want to answer any of my questions, instead just dodging around what I was saying to ask me more about Oracle."_

_-"I started to get a little frustrated, and I snapped at him. From there, he started yelling at me as well, and I guess it all spiraled from there."_

_-"We yelled for a while, and I decided that it wasn't worth it. I was about to get my things together to leave since I didn't see a point in staying if we were just going to argue the whole time."_

_-"That was where I ran into a few problems. I was gathering my things to go, but I felt something behind me."_

_-"I was still facing Mr. Strann at the time. We were still fighting the entire time I was getting ready to leave his residence."_

_-"A few seconds, something was slammed onto the back of my head, and I fell unconscious right away."_

_-"You can check the medical report if you want to. The wound was to the back of my head."_

I nodded to myself as she finished with her testimony before turning to Chrysalis. She seemed to have picked up on what I had, and we already knew what we were going to be doing for this testimony. The contradiction was right there, just asking for us to blow it open and see where it led us. This wasn't going to take long at all.

"I see..." Judge Frost murmured, nodding to himself. "Defense, are you ready to begin your cross-examination?"

I smirked. "We are, as a matter of fact. Ms. Burke, would you mind repeating your testimony once again for the court?" I asked. In any other circumstances, I wouldn't be calling her by her surname, but we had to remain as professional as possible, so I had no other choice. 

Polly nodded. "If you really need me to do that, then sure. Consider it done," she said before repeating what she had said once again. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Our Argument ~**

_-"I started off our conversation by asking him more about the former leader of Interpol."_

_-"He didn't want to answer any of my questions, instead just dodging around what I was saying to ask me more about Oracle."_

_-"I started to get a little frustrated, and I snapped at him. From there, he started yelling at me as well, and I guess it all spiraled from there."_

_-"We yelled for a while, and I decided that it wasn't worth it. I was about to get my things together to leave since I didn't see a point in staying if we were just going to argue the whole time."_

_-"That was where I ran into a few problems. I was gathering my things to go, but I felt something behind me."_

_-"I was still facing Mr. Strann at the time. We were still fighting the entire time I was getting ready to leave his residence."_

_-"A few seconds, something was slammed onto the back of my head, and I fell unconscious right away."_

_-"You can check the medical report if you want to. The wound was to the back of my head."_

"Objection!"

I pulled up a blank piece of paper after calling out that I had an objection. "The defense would like to bring the court's attention to a model of what likely happened at the time of the crime based on the testimony of the victim," I explained. I grabbed a pen and drew three circles in a line. I labeled the first one, the circle on the right, as 'C'. The middle one got the letter 'P' at its center, and the final circle received the letter 'S'. 

"What is this about?" Prosecutor Shield asked with a small frown. 

"In this little diagram, let's say that the culprit is represented by the circle labeled as 'C'. The defendant is the 'S' while the victim and current witness is 'P'," I began. "Ms. Burke, you said that you were facing towards the defendant as you were gathering your things to leave the house, yes?"

Polly nodded. "Yeah, I was," she answered simply. 

I drew two lines extending diagonally from the circle representing Polly towards Mr. Strann's circle to represent her line of sight. "As you can see here, she was facing the defendant. However, this contradicts the prosecution's explained course of events," I continued. "She was watching him the entire time that she was getting ready to leave his house, leaving us with a glaring contradiction."

"What contradiction are you speaking of?" Judge Frost questioned. 

"The medical report says that the blow came to the back of her head. She was hit from behind while getting ready to leave the house. However, she was facing the defendant while pulling her things together. She was watching him, and so, he had to be in front of her. The person who attacked her came up from behind, and that means that there was a third person present at the time who knocked the victim unconscious," I explained. "There were not two people there when the crime took place. A third person was present, and it was this third person who attacked the victim, knocking her unconscious when she was preparing to leave after the large argument!"

The courtroom's gallery burst into conversation once again, and I looked over to Chrysalis. She held up one fist, and I hit mine against hers. I could tell by the mischievous glint in her eye that she had been thinking the same thing. 

Judge Frost picked up his gavel and hit it against the podium before him. "Order in the court!" he exclaimed loudly. He had to repeat the phrase a few times before everyone finally fell silent. Once quiet had overcome the courtroom once again, he turned his attention towards Prosecutor Shield. "Were there any reports of other people being present at the crime scene? Are there any other notable witnesses who could be called that were there at the time of the attack?"

Prosecutor Shield hesitated for a moment. "I believe I heard that there was a third person present in the building at the time of the crime. If this is the case, then perhaps they were the one to hit the victim on the back of the head. It seems pretty clear that it's impossible the defendant could have done it. He couldn't have been looking at the victim from the front and behind her to hit her with the vase at the same time," he said. 

"I don't remember seeing anybody else there at the time," Polly frowned. "As far as I was aware, it was just the two of us in the room when I was attacked, but... I suppose I was a bit focused on other things when I got attacked, so how would I know for sure if that's the case?"

"So, should we go on and call this other witness to testify now?" Judge Frost asked. "If they were really the one to hit the victim on the head, then we need to hear about why they would do such a thing. It's a crime that cannot be taken lightly, and they will need a chance to defend themselves before we can decide if they are guilty of such an act or not."

"I would actually like to hear a bit more about the chat that took place between Ms. Burke and Mr. Strann leading up to the attack," I piped in. "We have a rough idea of what was said, but I believe that other details would also be helpful. It would be a poor choice to leave this point unresolved, wouldn't you agree?"

"I understand the defense's suggestion, and I agree that it wouldn't be a bad idea to go over this before moving on," Prosecutor Shield nodded. He turned his attention to Polly next. "Would you be alright with telling us more about what happened at the time of the conversation? What specifically did you discuss before the chat escalated into the argument that got you hurt?"

"Okay. I think that I should start from the beginning where the previous heads of Interpol are concerned. After all, this is a somewhat lengthy story, and it won't make any sense if I just pick up halfway through," Polly said. She took in a deep breath before speaking. "Cade Green was a former head of Interpol. He is not currently in charge, and he wasn't the most recent leader either. He would be the third most recent as of right now. He was the leader of Interpol for quite some time, but an unexpected incident forced him away from his job."

"What was this unexpected incident?" I asked, placing one hand on my chin. I knew quite a bit about the previous head of Interpol, but Cade Green hadn't ever caught my attention. Perhaps it was because he had been in charge before I became a lawyer. I hadn't heard of him up until this point, so I was going to have to listen up if I wanted to find out anything that might be important. 

"There was a breach in security at Interpol, and his real name was revealed. Soon afterwards, he had to leave the company. You see, at Interpol, codenames are used. Oftentimes, they are simple letters with no relation to the user's name. For example, a few years ago, an Interpol agent by the name of O was exposed. Her real name was Sakura Rai. There is no O anywhere in there, so you can tell that the naming situation has nothing to do with what someone's real name is," Polly went on. 

I cast a brief glance over to Chrysalis. She was keeping a rather cool head despite the mention of Sakura Rai. The name of her Interpol alias never seemed to bring up positive memories given what had happened the last time she used that false identity. However, she was doing a great job at ensuring she didn't show that it bothered her, instead just staring blankly ahead at Polly. I made a mental note to check up on her and make sure that she was feeling alright before turning my full attention back to the issue at hand. 

"If an Interpol agent's real name is revealed, they could be placed in great danger. After all, there are many people out there who would wish harm upon the agents working at Interpol," Prosecutor Shield murmured. "He left because he was put at risk by the breach in security."

"Exactly. However, that's not where his story ends. Afterwards, another person took over as the head of Interpol. There wasn't any discord within the company regarding the shift in authority. Everyone respected him immediately, and he was in charge for quite some time. This was seen as odd to some of the enemies of the company, and some more hacking work was done," Polly continued.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" I asked quietly. 

"You should feel nervous about it. The hacking job showed the real name of this second head of Interpol. His name was Carson Rinko, but this name was false. In truth, his real name was Cade Green. He had been given a false identity to allow him to keep leading Interpol," Polly replied. 

I felt my shoulders grow tense. "Rinko?" I echoed, not wanting to believe it. She couldn't possibly mean what I thought she was implying, right? Yuri Rinko was a worker at my agency, and I had known her for years. I had been close with her sisters as well before they lost their lives two years prior. Was Polly really trying to say that the previous head of Interpol was somehow related to Yuri? That couldn't be the case, right? 

Polly nodded, seeming to pick up on my unease. "Rinko. Carson Rinko led Interpol for quite some time, but when he was exposed once again as Cade Green, he disappeared. That was when another person took over Interpol. Cade Green vanished off the face of the planet, and nobody knows what happened to him. I got curious, so I started doing some sniffing around, and that sniffing led me to Mr. Strann," she answered. 

"The person who inherited Interpol from Cade Green wound up being incredibly corrupt. He manipulated others for his own gain and used his power in ways unbecoming of a true leader. He wasn't in power for long, but when he was, he seriously damaged the reputation of Interpol. That was when the Oracle of the Law swooped in and exposed him for his corrupt business practices. He was arrested, and the current leader of Interpol was installed in his place," Chrysalis murmured. "I remember hearing that much from the Interpol murder case a while ago. Deirdre, Yuri, and Lily told me all about it when they first got the chance to do so."

I nodded to myself, even though I had already known this information for quite some time. I had been heavily involved with exposing the previous head of Interpol, after all. As a primary member of the Oracle project, I had played a large role in figuring out the truth behind the corruption and helping Chrysalis bring it to the surface. Perhaps saying all of this was Chrysalis' way of seeming uninvolved with it all to outside eyes. I wasn't sure, but I knew that this information was likely going to be helpful. 

"You are correct there," Polly nodded. "The current leader has everything under control and is doing a much better job of not being corrupt than the previous one. Cade Green was a strong leader of the company, and the group took a serious hit when he had to leave after being exposed for the second time. It was a blow that they arguably haven't even come back from today."

"You decided to look more into Cade Green out of curiosity, yes? What led you to the defendant, if you don't mind my asking?" Prosecutor Shield asked. 

Polly shrugged. "His name came up while I was doing some digging, and I decided to ask if he knew anything. Of course, he wasn't answering any of my questions, and that's when I got frustrated and started to argue with him. That leads right up to what happened when I was attacked, which I already talked about, so I'll spare you the retelling for the time being. I hope that gives you a better idea of what we were talking about before all of the violence started," she said. 

"Hm... Is there anything else that you can tell us about Cade Green?" I questioned, wanting to know more about Carson Rinko. Was that just a fake name, or was there something more to it?

"I can try... He hasn't been seen in more than twelve years now. When he was exposed, he immediately left behind his family. They were unaware of his true identity as Cade Green and the leader of Interpol, so they were all surprised. Once he went missing, there were attempts to track him down, but they all ended in failure," Polly went on. "In other words, nobody knows where he disappeared to, but there are many who believe that he is still alive. Not many know about him nowadays because it's been so long since he was last relevant."

"That makes sense," I murmured. I looked up to her and frowned lightly. "You said that his family didn't know anything about what happened with him. Could you elaborate more on that?"

"Sure. Basically, nobody was aware that Carson Rinko was a false identity aside from other high-ranking figures in Interpol. Everybody else thought that he was just a regular person," Polly answered. "Because of that, the reveal took everybody by surprise, and that included the people he was living with. He was married with three daughters at the time, but he left them behind almost as soon as he was exposed. There was nothing left behind when he vanished."

I felt my shoulders grow rigid. Did she know what she was implying here? She had to be aware of it given that she had worked with Venus, Cassidy, and Yuri on the Oracle project in the past. They lived with their single mother, and they were three daughters. Venus and Cassidy had died since the disappearance of Carson Rinko, but the point still stood tall and proud. This was starting to imply that perhaps he was related to the three of them, but if that was the case, how were we supposed to deal with that? What were we meant to think of this whole thing?

"Perhaps we can discuss this at greater length after the trial draws to a conclusion. I believe that I've gone over a good chunk of the important facts regarding this case and how it ties into Cade Green. If there are any other questions, feel free to approach me after we're done here. For now, maybe I should explain fully what he wanted to hear about when we started talking," Polly suggested. 

I nodded. "Yes... Of course. What did the defendant want to hear from you? I recall you mentioning that it had something to do with the Oracle of the Law, but you didn't go into any greater detail than that," I said. 

"It did have to do with the Oracle of the Law," Polly nodded. "He believed that I knew something about the spy. Just so that we're all clear, such an assumption was false. I've been involved with some cases that Oracle was tied up in, sure, but that doesn't meant that I'm directly associated with them. To assume such would involve several leaps in logic that wouldn't be healthy to make in this situation."

"In other words, there was an incorrect assumption on his part that you were involved, and when he pressed you to answer his questions rather than answering yours, you got frustrated. That led to the argument before your attack," Prosecutor Shield declared. "Thank you for talking to us, Ms. Burke. We appreciate your words, and you have done quite a bit to help us fit together a greater image of how the incident played out."

"Could I leave now?" Polly asked, a frown on her face. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I'm really getting a headache from being here for so long. I'm still not feeling great after what happened since, you know, I got hit on the head by a vase."

"You are dismissed, witness. Be sure to rest as much as you can," Judge Frost told her. 

Polly nodded before walking away from the witness stand. She shot a brief glance to Anton, a small smile on her face. The tension in his body seemed to fade away at this small action, and she left the courtroom while he was still smiling. I was glad that such a small action had been able to comfort him in these dark times. 

"Now that we've figured all of that out, perhaps it's time for us to call our next witness," Prosecutor Shield declared. "After all, we do need to speak with the witness who was present at the scene of the crime when the victim was attacked."

"I agree," I nodded. "If this person really was there, then they could have been involved with the attack. Like I said, a third party must have committed this crime, and this could be the third party that we've been searching for. Either way, their testimony is going to be crucial to finding the truth behind this case."

I looked to Chrysalis out of the corner of my eye and saw that she was messing around with my diagram. She examined it with an eye of scrutiny. She pointed to the circle marked for the culprit, a small smirk on her face. I could tell that she was just as eager to hear what this witness had to say as I was. After all, if there was only one witness that was there with Mr. Strann and Polly, chances were that they were the culprit. 

However, I couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't been brought up before now. Why had Mr. Strann neglected to mention them when we were talking in the defendant lobby before the trial started? Perhaps that was a question for another day, but I was still certainly curious about it. 

"Please call this final witness to the stand, Prosecutor Shield," Judge Frost agreed with Prosecutor Shield. "I would also like to hear what they have to say."

"The prosecution now calls Jeff Lent to the witness stand," Prosecutor Shield said, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. 

"This is it," Chrysalis whispered. "Let's see what he has to say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homework stinky
> 
> -Digital


	3. Turnabout Deception, Part 3

**March 12**

**Courtroom No. 1**

**11:05 AM**

**Cotoli Morix**

The best way that I would describe the man who made his way up to the witness stand in the moments that followed would be broody. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, and he seemed content with ignoring all of us, avoiding eye contact as much as possible until he had found a place behind the podium. I looked over to Chrysalis, and she was glaring at him with suspicion in her eyes. It seemed I wasn't the only one who found his behavior already to be rather strange. 

The man, who I assumed was the Jeff Lent person that Prosecutor Shield had already mentioned, was incredibly pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun in weeks. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he stared solemnly at the space ahead of him. His hair was dark and neatly combed, but there was something about him that seemed malicious. He wore a suit consisting of all black fabric over a white button-up shirt. His eyes were a striking pale blue, as if they were staring directly into the soul itself. Another glance over to my sister's direction told me that she didn't like him in the slightest. 

I couldn't blame her. There was an aura about him that was peculiar, to say the least. I didn't know how to describe it, but I was oddly happy that he hadn't looked in my direction. A shiver threatened to run down my spine if we made eye contact. Luckily, he didn't seem to care much for me, instead staring blankly ahead of him as if nothing else mattered. It was rather interesting, to say the least. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed, looking down at Mr. Lent with a small frown. As far as I could tell, he was experiencing the same bad feeling that the rest of us were. I didn't think I had ever seen him looking so nervous. 

"Jeff Lent. Security guard," Mr. Lent replied bluntly, still refusing to look at anyone. He moved his focus upwards slightly, but that still wasn't enough for anyone to get direct eye contact out of him. I couldn't tell if that was for the best or not, but I wasn't going to ask questions as long as he was around. I didn't want to risk him growing upset. 

"Security guard?" Judge Frost echoed. "What do you mean by that? Were you hired by the defendant to look after his house?"

Mr. Lent nodded. "Yeah. That's what I said, isn't it?" he asked, sounding exasperated already. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, clearly not happy to be here. "You really should try to listen a bit more."

"The witness will be more respectful in the future," Prosecutor Shield replied, his voice deadpan and quietly angry. He shook his head before turning his attention up to Judge Frost. "Now, witness... How about you tell us more about what happened at the time of the crime? You were there, if I have been understanding correctly. 

"I was there. What about it?" Mr. Lent questioned. He didn't show much emotion in his tone, and I already got the feeling that cross-examining his testimony was going to be far from easy. 

"Please offer more details about what you were doing there," Prosecutor Shield pressed, clearly getting frustrated already. He seemed to want Mr. Lent gone as much as the rest of us, and I noticed that his hands had clenched into tight fists perhaps out of anger. 

Mr. Lent shrugged. "I was there because I was hired by the defendant. It's that simple. My services don't come cheap, but I do a good job when I am hired," he replied. 

"You don't work for a given company then?" I asked, taken aback. "You provide security based on your own terms and who buys your services? For the most part, I've only ever heard about security guards who work with larger companies or as part of a given force who defend people out of public obligation or for regular pay. A freelance security guard is certainly a new concept to me, I must admit."

"I have my own reasons for accepting his request. Besides, I prefer to work on my own more often than not anyways. It's easier to regulate what I want to do against what I don't," Mr. Lent replied, his voice still stern. "Is that all you wanted to ask me about?"

"You aren't going to worm your way out of here that easily," sighed Prosecutor Shield, shaking his head in frustration. "We need to hear about what you saw and heard at the time of the crime. If you were really a witness, then you must have observed something from when the assault took place."

Mr. Lent shrugged. "I guess that I did see something... But is that really important? There are many more things that likely require your attention. Don't you need to figure out who did it? I believe you suspect the man in the defendant's seat, but I also get the feeling that such suspicions have shifted since this trial began an hour ago," he answered, his tone hostile and uninterested. 

"We think that you may have committed this crime," answered Prosecutor Shield. "You see, it has come to our attention that the defendant could not have attacked the victim. At the time, the victim was watching him, and he was standing in front of her. She was hit from behind and didn't see the culprit, so it must have been someone else. You are the only one who was known to be at the scene of the crime when she was attacked."

"You suspect me because of something like that? Anybody else could have done it. For all you know, there were other people there at the time. Ask the defendant. He could tell you. You aren't going to listen to what he has to say on the matter though, are you?" Mr. Lent said, glaring at Prosecutor Shield before rolling his eyes. "If you're going to just accuse me without letting me defend myself, then I'm not going to stick around. Maybe I could just leave right now. I'm sure that would make you really happy, wouldn't it?"

"You will do no such thing until after you have offered your testimony," came the stern voice of Judge Frost as he glared down at Mr. Lent. "Now, why don't you tell us about why you were there at the time of the crime? You said that there was a reason that you took up the defendant on his offer of paying you in exchange for the defense, so why don't you tell us more about that?"

"I'm afraid that I don't want to discuss that. For the sake of my privacy, I'm going to shift the conversation to something else. Don't you want to hear about what I did at the time of the crime instead? That's the more important point of discussion, wouldn't you agree?" Mr. Lent asked. 

"Fine. If that's what you want to tell the court about, then out with it already. We don't want to waste more time than we already have, so talk," Prosecutor Shield demanded, frustration working its way into his voice. "You had better see this discussion through to the end. Don't bother trying to change the subject part of the way through. We won't allow for you to do that."

"Alright. You don't need to get so pushy," Mr. Lent scoffed. "Should I begin my testimony or whatever?"

"Start from the very beginning and tell the story of what happened in chronological order," Judge Frost instructed, his gaze harsh. 

"Sheesh. No reason to be so rude," Mr. Lent grumbled before continuing. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Crime ~**

_-"I was hired as a security guard by the defendant to look after him and the contents of his house. He told me it was because he was expecting company."_

_-"I agreed to it, so I came by that day and set myself up to make sure that nothing went wrong. If I wanted my pay, I had to make sure that my employer stayed safe throughout the visit."_

_-"I watched from a distance most of the time. He said it wasn't necessary that anyone know that I was present at the time, so I stayed hidden and just observed."_

_-"She started getting mad after a while, but I wasn't there at the time. I left to go on a brief break to the restroom, and when I came back, the defendant was screaming his head off in panic."_

_-"He was standing right in front of her unconscious body, looking at her in shock. He didn't see whoever knocked her unconscious, and I obviously didn't either since I was gone."_

_-"I called the police on his behalf once I got him to calm down. I still don't know who could have done it, but it wasn't either one of us."_

I looked over to Chrysalis once he was finished speaking. She clearly wasn't buying a word that he was saying, and I got the feeling that she had caught onto the same contradiction that I had. 

"You claim that you called the police?" Prosecutor Shield asked, a small frown on his face. He seemed to have noticed the same thing that Chrysalis and I had realized, and he was far from happy about it. Even Anton looked confused, and he looked back and forth between Mr. Lent and Prosecutor Shield wildly, as if that would patch up the large contradiction that had appeared. 

"I do. What about it?" Mr. Lent questioned, glaring at Prosecutor Shield intensely. If he knew about the mistake, he was doing a damn good job of hiding that he was aware. I didn't understand how he could be so easygoing about it, but I didn't have time to think about it for long. I was going to blow open this contradiction as soon as I got the chance. 

Judge Frost stared at Mr. Lent for a moment before sighing. "Please begin your cross-examination, defense," he instructed. He, much like Prosecutor Shield, seemed to be counting on us to point out the glaring issue within the testimony. 

I nodded. "We'll get right to it," I answered, turning my attention to Mr. Lent. I didn't know what he was up to by saying that he had called the police, but he wasn't going to get away with it. The contradiction was clear, and I was going to show that he was lying no matter what. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Crime ~**

_-"I was hired as a security guard by the defendant to look after him and the contents of his house. He told me it was because he was expecting company."_

_-"I agreed to it, so I came by that day and set myself up to make sure that nothing went wrong. If I wanted my pay, I had to make sure that my employer stayed safe throughout the visit."_

_-"I watched from a distance most of the time. He said it wasn't necessary that anyone know that I was present at the time, so I stayed hidden and just observed."_

_-"She started getting mad after a while, but I wasn't there at the time. I left to go on a brief break to the restroom, and when I came back, the defendant was screaming his head off in panic."_

_-"He was standing right in front of her unconscious body, looking at her in shock. He didn't see whoever knocked her unconscious, and I obviously didn't either since I was gone."_

_-"I called the police on his behalf once I got him to calm down. I still don't know who could have done it, but it wasn't either one of us."_

"Objection!" 

I crossed my arms over my chest, a frown of disappointment on my face. "I have to ask you, Mr. Lent... Why do you insist on lying to this court?" I questioned. 

Mr. Lent raised one eyebrow in my direction. "What are you on about now? You think that I'm lying? What makes you think that's the case?" he asked. 

"You said that you were the one who called the police, but this is not true. It contradicts what the leading detective said. She claimed that the defendant was the one who called the police. Also, I must say... Isn't it oddly convenient that you just so happened to be gone at the time when the assault took place? You were off taking care of other business when the victim was attacked, or so you claim," I remarked. "I find that rather strange."

"It's just coincidence that I happened to be occupied with other things when the crime took place," Mr. Lent told me, his eyes narrowing intensely. 

"If the defendant and victim were getting into an argument that was quickly escalating into something worse, then you would want to stay and see what was going on. After all, an argument would be the part that a security guard would take most interest in should it have turned into something more than a verbal fight," I commented. "And yet, you were not present. The argument was not an instantaneous issue. There was buildup, just as there is in all arguments."

"I must say that I find such behavior rather strange as well," Prosecutor Shield agreed. "Tell me, witness... Why did you choose that moment to leave?"

"I already told you that I was going for a restroom break. That's not something you can simply choose, you know," Mr. Lent shrugged. "For all you know, somebody could have snuck into the building while I was occupied with other business."

"You're a security guard. Your job is to ensure that the building remains secure and safe for all of the people inside. You would fail at your job if you let somebody sneak inside while you were gone," I pointed out. "You claimed already that your services do not come cheap and that you know what you are doing in the field of security. Wouldn't this be a rather large failure on your record?"

"That's none of your business to decide. What do you know in the first place?" Mr. Lent asked, anger slowly filling his voice. 

"Why don't we ask the witness another question?" Prosecutor Shield suggested, looking over to me with a frown. He could see just as clearly as I could that this line of reasoning wasn't going to be getting us anywhere. We had caught him off-guard, but it wasn't enough to get him to confess to anything. If we wanted to find the truth, we would have to aim for another method of attacking his words and go from there. Hopefully, that would be enough to get him to open up more about what he was doing once he realized there was no worming out of this.

"Hm... Where should we even go from if we want to press on from here?" Chrysalis murmured with a small frown. "If we want to catch him off guard, we'll have to ask something that seems simple but could blow this case open. I'm not sure where we should go from here, but you're the expert here anyways, so I suppose that I'll leave it up to you." 

I placed one hand on my chin, closing my eyes in consideration. I didn't know where to go from here yet, but I was going to have to figure it out fast. I got the feeling that Mr. Lent was only going to get more impatient the longer I tried to find a new route to the truth of this case. I would have to figure out a way to go fast. 

I finished my thinking and looked up to Mr. Lent. "Alright... I have to ask... What is your relationship with the victim? Did you know her at all prior to what happened?" I asked carefully. 

Mr. Lent shook his head. "No, I didn't. I didn't even know that she existed until this happened. I can't tell you about our relationship since we've never even spoken. I watched quietly from the sidelines and didn't do anything until after the attack took place. She didn't know I was there until this trial began," he replied, shrugging his shoulders slowly. "Does that answer your question?"

"If he didn't know anything about Polly before this, maybe you could go from a similar yet different direction," Chrysalis suggested with a small frown. "There has to be someone else that you could ask him about that won't set him off, though you'll have to be careful with how you approach the topic."

I nodded, understanding what she was saying. "Alright... Mr. Lent, what do you know about the defendant? I take it that you two have met before. You said there was a reason that you accepted his request when you don't just take work from anyone, so I assume that you two have at least a bit of a history. What does this history involve?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes in the direction of the witness. 

Mr. Lent didn't seem to mind this question, so I knew that I had phrased it alright. Part of me worried at first that I was going to bring out his hostile side by mentioning his relationship with the defendant, but it seemed that I had treaded carefully enough to get away with it. "We've known each other for a long time. I wasn't always a security guard, to say the least, and we met when we were on the same job a long time ago," Mr. Lent answered. "He reached out to me after years where we hadn't spoken at all, and I decided to accept his request because of how much history we shared from whenever we were much younger."

"Where did you two meet? What job were you involved with?" Prosecutor Shield questioned, glad that he wasn't dealing with Mr. Lent's frustrating behavior anymore. Mr. Lent had calmed down considerably thanks to the shift in conversation, and I couldn't help but be happy that he wasn't being openly hostile anymore. There was only so much of that I could take. 

"We were simply together in work. That's all that you need to know. Unfortunately, we both had to leave at about the same time, and we didn't communicate much after that," Mr. Lent answered. "I was glad to see him again after we ran into each other before the attack. I let him hire me because of our history. That's all you really need to know on the matter."

"Clearly we aren't going to get any other details here," I murmured. "I have to ask what's could possibly get him to talk. How could we smooth out the contradiction whenever he supposedly called the police?"

"Maybe you could ask him about what he did when he called the police again. If he continues to claim that he called the police, you could blow open his testimony again. If he stops lying, then you can ask him why he said that in the first place, which will lead to the truth," Chrysalis suggested. "We got him to calm down, and that should make it easier for us to drag more out of him. He isn't hostile now that we've discussed something that he's more comfortable with, so we can move on."

"Alright," I nodded to myself, shifting my attention back up to Mr. Lent once more. "Alright... Can you tell us more about what you did when you claim that you called the police for aid after the scene of the assault was discovered?"

"I don't really see the point of it," Mr. Lent admitted with a small frown. "No matter what I say, you aren't going to believe a word that comes out of my mouth, so why does it matter?"

"We still want to sort out this contradiction. In fact, it's required that we figure it out in order to find the truth of this case," Prosecutor Shield said firmly. "Judge Frost, what do you say about this?"

"I believe that we have to figure out the full truth behind this case, and smoothing out this contradiction is the first step to doing such," Judge Frost declared. "With that said, I ask that you testify about what happened after the crime when you claim that you called the police."

Mr. Lent hesitated for a moment, shaking his head. His hostile aura had returned, and I could tell that he was far from happy with this turn of events. "Fine. If you're really going to push me so far to do this, then let's just go on and get it over with. Maybe that will lessen my pain a bit in the long run," Mr. Lent muttered bitterly, still not making eye contact with anyone. "Let's do it already."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Calling the Police ~**

_-"After we found the scene, somebody called the police, but I guess I was wrong when I thought that I had been the one to do it, so sorry about the confusion earlier."_

_-"In all the chaos of what happened right after we found her unconscious, I suppose I didn't realize who it was that had called for help. Negative events can scramble your memory, you know."_

_-"I made a mistake, but I must ask that you not hold it against me. We all slip up from time to time, but that doesn't mean that I'm not at all worth listening to during this trial's duration."_

_-"The police arrived soon after they were called, and the defendant was arrested for the crime. I wound up being questioned for quite a while about what happened. I told them exactly what I just told you."_

_-"I maintain my statement that somebody else must have come in and out to commit the crime. I am innocent, and my client is innocent as well. I must ask that you stop suspecting us both, as this was not our fault."_

_-"As for who was really responsible, I'm afraid that I don't have the slightest idea. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone. I didn't mean to cause so many problems."_

_-"Unless you have proof as to the contrary, I must ask that you let us move on to find the real culprit. We were not behind it, and I will not back down from claiming such."_

"It was... A mistake?" I asked with a small frown. "You said that you called the police because of a slip of your memory, but... Is that really the case?"

If he wasn't sure in the first place, why would he have said such a thing? In a court of law, lying or otherwise obstructing the truth is a terrible offense, but he tried to do it anyways. I didn't think I would ever understand how he had the guts to pull something like that off when it could so easily lead to disaster. 

"You said that you called the police because of an issue with your memory? This makes your testimony unreliable at best, witness," Judge Frost frowned, glaring down at Mr. Lent with a heavy frown. "If you weren't sure that you called them, you should have said so in your testimony."

"I made a little mistake, but we got it all sorted out. That's what matters most at the end of the day," Mr. Lent said with a loose shrug. "Now that we've found the truth, why bother fussing over it more than we already have? If you ask me, there are far more important issues to evaluate regarding this trial, such as finding the culprit, so why don't we abandon this line of reasoning before we waste too much time over it? This is the best way for us to find the truth, wouldn't you agree?"

"We will be going over your testimony once again," came the stern voice of Judge Frost. "I believe that it is vital that we go over this before moving on. There were no signs of other people being around at the time of the crime, so perhaps your theory of a potential other person being present isn't as solid as you would openly suggest."

"I think we should save that for the cross-examination. I get the feeling that the defense will know exactly how to speak about your testimony when you go over it a second time," commented Prosecutor Shield. He looked over to me and Chrysalis, a glaze of solemn expectation overcoming his eyes.

I nodded in response, not wanting to let him or anyone else involved with the case down. "The defense will get right to the cross-examination," I replied before turning to face Chrysalis. "Do you have any ideas that could blow this case open?"

She considered her options for a moment. "I have an idea, but it has to do with what we just learned, so it's not really about physical evidence. Think about the relationship between the defendant and the witness. I'm sure that will lead us to victory here," she replied. 

"Thanks for the tip," I said, frowning as I tried to think through what would be best to say in this testimony. 

"Please begin your cross-examination, defense," Judge Frost instructed. 

"We'll get to it right away," I replied before looking back to Mr. Lent. We were going to figure this out, of that much I was sure, but I had to figure out how we were going to pull that off before we could jump too far in. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Calling the Police ~**

_-"After we found the scene, somebody called the police, but I guess I was wrong when I thought that I had been the one to do it, so sorry about the confusion earlier."_

_-"In all the chaos of what happened right after we found her unconscious, I suppose I didn't realize who it was that had called for help. Negative events can scramble your memory, you know."_

_-"I made a mistake, but I must ask that you not hold it against me. We all slip up from time to time, but that doesn't mean that I'm not at all worth listening to during this trial's duration."_

_-"The police arrived soon after they were called, and the defendant was arrested for the crime. I wound up being questioned for quite a while about what happened. I told them exactly what I just told you."_

_-"I maintain my statement that somebody else must have come in and out to commit the crime. I am innocent, and my client is innocent as well. I must ask that you stop suspecting us both, as this was not our fault."_

_-"As for who was really responsible, I'm afraid that I don't have the slightest idea. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone. I didn't mean to cause so many problems."_

_-"Unless you have proof as to the contrary, I must ask that you let us move on to find the real culprit. We were not behind it, and I will not back down from claiming such."_

"Objection!"

I took a deep breath before speaking once again. "You say that there is no proof as to you committing the crime, but... There are two things that I would like to bring to the court's attention before we fully dismiss you, witness," I began, speaking slowly and quietly to ensure that he didn't grow too hostile and violent with me. 

"What are those two things then?" Judge Frost asked, frowning to himself. 

"First of all, I want to point out that this witness has already been proven to have lied during testimony. He falsely claimed that he was the one who called the police and then said that he wasn't sure if he was really the one to do so. I believe that this is a sign of a faulty testimony, and we need to examine it as such when pushing forward. How are we sure that he has been telling the truth leading up to this point?" I asked. 

"I understand... You think that he has been lying about a specific part of his testimony in particular, don't you?" Prosecutor Shield questioned. "If that's the case, why don't you go on and tell us what you think he's been lying about specifically? The more detail you can offer, the better."

I shot a brief glance over to Chrysalis, studying her posture to see if she was hiding any ideas behind her neutral expression. In all honesty, I might as well have not done anything, as it was clear that she was thinking the same thing that I was. We knew exactly where this was coming from, and it was going to lead us to the culprit. 

It was going to lead us to Mr. Lent. 

"Mr. Lent claimed that he wasn't present at the time of the attack. This is unreliable testimony, and the rest of his words fall apart when he incorrectly claims that he wasn't there. If this is a lie, it means that he was present at the scene of the crime. The rest of his words crumble to nothingness when you realize that he was lying about this one fundamental fact," I explained.

"Why don't you explain to us more about what you believe happened at the time of the crime then? If this is a lie, then tell us how this would impact the rest of the case's events," Judge Frost suggested. "This is vital if we wish to move forward with the trial."

Prosecutor Shield crossed his arms and nodded. "I must admit, I am rather curious to hear about the same thing. Go on and get started as soon as you're ready," he instructed firmly. 

I smirked to myself before taking a deep breath. "Alright. In that case, let's get right into it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is awesome
> 
> -Digital


	4. Turnabout Deception, Part 4

**March 12**

**Courtroom No. 1**

**12:00 PM**

**Cotoli Morix**

"If Mr. Lent was lying about being there at the time of the crime, then that means that he was there when the attack took place. He remained hidden the whole time that the defendant was speaking with the victim since he didn't see a reason to show himself, but he was undoubtedly nearby the scene during their conversation," I began to explain. "If he was at the scene of the crime, then that immediately comes off as rather suspicious, especially given that we are looking for someone who attacked the victim from behind."

"You think that he's been lying up to this point because he was the one who attacked the victim then," Prosecutor Shield commented. "If he claimed that he wasn't present, then it would be hard for us to say that he was the one who attacked the victim, but if he was there... Well, it's easy to see how that would make all the pieces fit together."

"I think that we'll need to look over what the witness claimed that he was doing at the time of the crime again. After all, if he was present as you suspect, then that could make him a potential culprit," Judge Frost agreed with a firm nod. 

Mr. Lent let out a heavy, frustrated sigh and shook his head. "I don't know what you're on about. I wasn't there at the time, and you have no evidence to prove that I was there. Why don't you just drop it already?" he asked angrily. 

"Well, I do have a proposal, as a matter of fact," I said. I might not have had any evidence to use against him, but I could still put forward the one main idea that I had related to Mr. Lent. "I believe that I know something about the motive that Mr. Lent would have had if he were the culprit behind this case."

The members of the gallery began to talk above us, instantly bursting into chatter at the mention of a motive. I turned to Chrysalis with a small smirk, hoping to see if she had any thoughts about what I had said. She looked over to me and nodded in approval. 

"Do you think you know what I'm talking about?" I asked her, praying that she was keeping up with the conclusions I had come to. I didn't want to leave her in the dust, as she couldn't help me out if she didn't know where I was going with this.

"I do. The motive has been sitting right in front of us all along, and it would be ridiculous of us to dismiss it when it's clear what it is," she agreed. "Looking back on it, the motive seems perfectly obvious, and I assume that's the reason that he was trying to hide where he was at the time of the crime. If anybody realized he was there, the pieces would fit together all too well before he would be able to recover."

Judge Frost raised his gavel and slammed it down on the podium before him. "Order in the court!" he roared, a frown on his face. The chatter in the courtroom began to calm down, and he let out a heavy sigh before shaking his head. "Now, defense... I would like to know what you think the motive is behind this crime. Please explain your reasoning to the court."

"It's perfectly logical when you think about who the witness is. I want you tot tell me his occupation one more time," I told Judge Frost with a small smirk creeping onto my face. 

"Um... He's a security guard," Judge Frost told us, still frowning. "I don't understand what that would have to do with his motive though. Is his occupation the reason that he would have committed this crime?"

"It is, as a matter of fact. He was hired to ensure that the defendant was kept safe. The defendant asked Mr. Lent to come in and ensure that there were no violent outbreaks while he was sharing a discussion the victim. Mr. Lent's job was to make sure that there was no issue with physical fighting," I began to explain. "I'm sure that should start to put all the puzzle pieces together for what happened at the time."

Judge Frost took a moment to think to himself before he let out a small gasp. "Preventing what happened would have been his job," he realized. "And you think that led him to this crime?"

"I do. If he thought that the victim was going to get violent, then he would have lashed out to protect his employer. He would have gotten in a lot of trouble and feel rather guilty if his companion was hurt in a potential attack, so he lashed out in order to keep him safe," I explained. "However, as far as we can tell, there were no signs that the victim was going to be violent. She simply gathered her things and went to leave when an argument began between her and the defendant, meaning there were no indications that a fight was going to start. That's why he wanted to hide the truth from us. If he confessed to it, the crime likely would not have been seen as justified since nobody actually got violent until he appeared."

"That makes sense," Prosecutor Shield nodded. "He was clearly at the scene of the crime, and by lying and claiming that he wasn't there, then he was hoping that we wouldn't pick up on that major detail... I believe that this is rather plausible, and we should certainly consider this as a possibility regarding how the crime took place."

"You're all jumping to conclusions. You have no evidence to show that I was present at the time of the crime. Someone could have snuck into the building while I was on off duty, and they could have easily committed this crime," Mr. Lent exclaimed, his hands clenched tightly into fists. "I want you to stop accusing me when you have no real proof that I was the one who did it."

"We can surely prove that you were the one who attacked the victim though, which would show that you were at the scene of the crime when the assault took place," I declared. "The defense would like to request to hear the testimony of the victim one more time. There's something else that I would like to ask her."

"She should be resting out in the defendant lobby right now. It should be very easy to call her in and hear her testimony once again," Prosecutor Shield pointed out. "Why don't we go on and summon her back to the witness stand? I'm curious to hear what the defense believes will lead us to the truth behind this case."

"I have one important question to ask her, and I think that will lead us to the truth behind this case," I said, looking up to Judge Frost. "Do we have your permission to call her to the stand once again?"

"No!" Mr. Lent roared. "You're jumping to conclusions, and it isn't going to work out in your favor in the slightest. I don't understand how you can go about your business this way, claiming that an innocent person is guilty of a crime without any sort of burden on your conscience. I didn't attack the victim, and there's nothing you can say or do to dispute that undeniable truth. Quit accusing me already."

"There's one question that we can ask the victim that could very easily lead us to the truth. Are you asking that we obscure the truth from the world by allowing this chance to pass us by?" Chrysalis asked, her expression neutral as she looked at Mr. Lent. It was probably the calmest she had ever looked in Mr. Lent's direction, but it was clear that her voice was dripping with condescension. I was sure that he deserved it given what we had figured out about him already, so I did nothing to stop her. 

Mr. Lent frowned and shook his head. "You're making a huge mistake," he grumbled. "I'm out of here. Ask her whatever your damn question is. I doubt it will get you far in the slightest, but it wouldn't hurt to try, if that's what you're about."

"Please step down from the witness stand, and do your best to avoid the outbursts of attitude in the future," Judge Frost told him sternly, a heavy frown on his face. He shook his head before turning to the prosecution. "Please summon the victim at once so that we can speak with her."

Mr. Lent shuffled away from the witness stand, clearly not at all satisfied with the turn that this was taking. Anton dashed away from the prosecution bench before leaving the courtroom. I watched the door for a moment, waiting for him to reappear with Polly. 

"I think I know what question you're talking about," Chrysalis murmured. "If somebody snuck into the building, then there's one thing that would undoubtedly change. The atmosphere of the area would undergo a small shift if another person entered the building, and it's that atmospheric change that will prove whether or not he left at the time of the crime."

"Exactly," I nodded. "It's crucial that we find the truth here. Polly will undoubtedly be able to supply us with an answer. I hope that everyone understands what we're going at here. I'm praying that Polly will catch onto it rather quickly, though if she doesn't, that's understandable. After all, she has been through a lot, and I doubt that her mind is in a suitable condition at the moment."

Anton returned soon afterwards, and Polly shuffled up to the witness stand. Anton was hesitant to let her go, but he walked back to the prosecution bench soon afterwards, sadness on his face that he was unable to stay with Polly. I felt a small pang of pity for him, and I made a mental note to check up on him as soon as this trial came to an end. I doubted the case was doing any favors to his mental state. 

Polly leaned forward on the witness stand, placing her head in one hand. A sigh left her lips, and she closed her eyes. Somehow, she seemed even more disheveled than before, and I got the feeling that we caught her in the middle of a nap. She had been told to rest up, and she couldn't exactly object given her condition. Polly was as stubborn as it got, but she still knew when not to go up against the instructions of others, and this was one time where she was happy to listen to what her superiors had to say. 

"What do you need?" Polly asked, frustration dripping from her voice. She opened her eyes a crack and looked over at where I was standing next to Chrysalis. I got the feeling she was less mad at us and more angry at the situation, so I didn't mind the grim expression that she was giving the two of us. "I was told that somebody wanted to ask me a question, but I never got specifics on what that question is about. Would anybody mind filling me in on what I missed?" 

"I have one important question for you regarding the time of the crime," I answered. "The attack took place yesterday, quite clearly in May. It would be natural to smell flowers and pollen when one stepped outside, yes?"

"Yeah. That's what it smelled like when I first got there. Why do you ask?" Polly questioned with a small frown. 

"Before we move on, I must question you on the temperature when you arrived at the house as well. How would you say it compared to the temperature inside of the building?" I asked, trying to remain as calm as possible despite my plans very clearly coming together. 

"Um... It was warm outside. It was cooler inside of the building since it was on the humid side," Polly answered. "I don't understand what you're trying to say by asking all these questions though. Are you trying to say that the outside has something to do with this case?"

I nodded. "Your Honor, under these circumstances, if someone opened a window, wouldn't you be able to tell that there was an intrusion from the outside? It would be clear based on the smell and the temperature compared to what can be found outdoors. If a fourth person really did sneak into the building as Mr. Lent claimed, then it would be clear as day that they had crept inside because of the shift in smell and temperature," I remarked. 

"I have minor allergies to pollen. When a window gets opened and I can smell it, I instantly feel the effects. The smell is rather strong, and if the room that the crime took place in was directly connected to a window, then it would be rather easy to tell," Chrysalis commented. "So, I think what we're trying to get to is this one key question..."

"Did you smell pollen or feel a rise in temperature at the time of the attack?" I questioned. 

Polly shook her head. "No. It smelled like the inside of the house at the time, and the temperature remained cooler than it was outdoors," she answered. "It didn't get warmer by any significant margin while I was there."

"In other words, it was impossible for someone to have snuck in through the window to commit the crime!" I declared. "The only three people that were in the building at the time of the attack were the Polly Burke, victim, Collack Strann, the defendant, and Jeff Lent, the witness. It seems clear as can be now who committed this crime if you look at it from the proper perspective."

"If Mr. Strann didn't do it and Prosecutor Burke was the one who got attacked, that leaves only one possibility regarding the culprit," Prosecutor Shield nodded. "It must have been Mr. Lent. There were no other people present at the time of the crime. I would have learned about them during my investigation, and I'm sure that there are others involved with the case who can back up that statement as well. Only one person could have done this."

The gallery burst into chatter once again soon after Prosecutor Shield finished talking, and I looked over to Chrysalis with a small smile. She smirked in response before turning her attention back to the trial. The gentle din of conversation surrounded us, but we didn't do anything to stop it. After all, we were going to find the truth sooner rather than later, so they could talk for as long as they wanted. It wasn't going to impact us in the slightest, so we might as well let them continue. Besides, they probably weren't going to listen to us anyways, assuming they could hear us without a gavel above the noise. 

Judge Frost picked up his gavel and slammed it down once again. "Order in the court! I will have order!" he roared. It felt like it took a thousand years for the chatter buzzing around us to calm down, and once it did, he let out a sigh, clearly not liking that he had to be so aggressive. "If there were no signs that somebody snuck in, then that means that only one person could have committed this crime... Prosecution, how do you respond to this? Do you have any objections to what the defense has proposed regarding the case?"

"I do not," Prosecutor Shield said, turning his attention over to Mr. Lent once again. "I must ask though... What do you have to say about being accused of this crime? Do you have a rebuttal?"

Mr. Lent walked back up to the witness stand with rage in his eyes. He glared at Polly as she passed him by, but she returned the favor with a fierce gaze that would make even the strongest of souls shudder. She returned to the lobby as Mr. Lent found his place behind the stand, and the door shut behind her with a loud tap. 

"You cannot really mean to say that I committed this crime," Mr. Lent declared angrily. "I would not attack the victim. I didn't know her, so why would I hurt her?"

"You not knowing the victim ties directly back to why you would commit this crime. If you knew her, then you would be aware that she was not the violent type, and that would keep you from attacking her in the first place. However, since you do not know her, then you could have attacked her and tried to justify it," Prosecutor Shield answered. 

"If you were aware of how she regularly behaved, you would know that she isn't violent. You wouldn't have attacked her when she began to yell at the defendant if you had known that she was not a violent person. Your lack of knowledge about her shows when it comes to who committed the crime," I continued. 

"I can't believe that you're basing your entire argument around the smell of the building from the time of the crime. In case you didn't already notice, she was attacked, so her memory could be fuzzy. Maybe she's blending different occurrences to use her testimony against me," Mr. Lent suggested. "She's clearly conspiring against me."

"Why would she conspire against you? You saw that she was in the lobby outside of the courtroom until recently. She had no idea that you were a suspect, and she had no way of knowing either. She was not conspiring against you because there was no way for her to be aware that you were a suspect," Prosecutor Shield pointed out, clearly getting sick of what Mr. Lent was claiming. 

"If you're going to say that she's against you, then you had better come up with a better excuse than that," Chrysalis remarked with a shake of her head. "I think that we should go back and cover all the ground that we've gone over so far. After all, it's important that we know where we've come from in order to figure out where to go next."

"A lot has happened on this case as of late, and it's important that we hear all of the details before continuing," Judge Frost agreed before looking to me. "Mr. Morix, would you like to explain to the court what happened the day of the crime? I get the feeling that you have an idea of how to tell the tale."

"I do, as a matter of fact," I declared with a nod before looking over to Chrysalis. "Alright... I think this might be the last little thing we need in order to finish off the case. If we can get everyone to see that there are no other possibilities aside from the witness committing the crime, then he'll stop trying to fight back. He'll realize that fighting against a court that has already decided on his guilt has no choice. The gallery does more than just talk at inopportune times."

"I agree," Chrysalis nodded. "Well, there's no time to lose now. How about we go on and get into it? The sooner we can finish this, the better. Poor Polly needs to catch up on lost rest."

I took in a deep breath before looking to the courtroom at large. "Alright. The case took place at the house of the defendant. He asked the victim to come and visit him since they both wished to discuss something with the other. The defendant was curious about if the victim knew about the Oracle of the Law, and the victim was wondering what the defendant knew about the previous head of Interpol, Cade Green. The victim arrived at the assigned time, and she entered the house to begin talking to the defendant," I began to explain. 

"Of course, they were not alone in the house. The defendant asked for a security guard to watch his back in case anything happened. He didn't know the victim very well and was concerned that she might get violent with him, so he asked the witness, one Jeff Lent, for help ensuring that nothing went too wrong," Chrysalis continued. "Mr. Lent watched their conversation from afar, and the victim was unaware that he was present, thinking it was just her and the defendant."

"Mr. Lent watched as the two began to talk about the Oracle and the previous head of Interpol. However, neither one of them got the answers they wanted from the other, and an argument broke out. The two began to yell at one another, and the victim began to gather her things with hopes of leaving the building behind. She saw that she wasn't going to be learning anything new, so she resolved to step away," I went on, picking up where my sister had left off. 

"However, she was not able to leave the building. She was cut off when she was hit on the back of the head. She was facing the defendant at the time of the crime, so he could not have hit her on the back of the head. A third party who the victim was not aware of could have easily done so though. He was hiding nearby, and when he sensed that an argument was picking up, he grabbed a vase and slammed it into the back of her head, knocking her unconscious immediately," Chrysalis said next. "As for who the culprit is... I think we all know."

"Mr. Lent claims that he left the scene of the crime to go to the restroom and that a fourth person committed the crime. However, this is not the case, as if a window or door was opened to allow someone to sneak inside, the smell of pollen and the humidity of the outside air would become apparent, and yet, nobody recalls that. He must have been there at the time to attack the victim," I went on. "If he was not present, then another person must have done it, but we have already shown that a fourth person could not have attacked Prosecutor Burke. That leaves only one possibility, and it points to the witness, Mr. Lent, having been the culprit behind this case."

"The defendant and witness do not know the victim well. This was one of the first times that the victim spoke with the defendant, and she still has not spoken to the witness. They had no ways of knowing that she wasn't a violent person, and because they assumed that she might wind up attacking them, the defendant hired the witness as a security guard. Mr. Lent watched on silently until he thought that his client was in danger, and he jumped into action, hitting the victim on the head to knock her unconscious and effectively end the argument. However, there was truly no reason for him to lash out given that she didn't seem to have any intentions of attacking the defendant or witness," Chrysalis declared. 

"I believe that it's rather clear at this point who committed this crime. It was the witness, believing that the victim was a violent person, who lashed out. He tried to cover it up and hide the truth behind who committed the crime, blaming it on a fourth person who does not exist," I frowned. "He didn't try to accuse the defendant because Mr. Strann was the one who hired him in the first place, and he didn't want to break his laws of loyalty, it seemed."

"He was willing to put his pride on the line for the sake of keeping him from being accused, but he still didn't own up to his crime. If he said from the start why he committed the crime, maybe it wouldn't have had to be like this," Prosecutor Shield remarked. 

"Actually, I believe it would have wound up like this regardless," I said. "Even if he had confessed to his crimes, the fact remains that there was no physical violence leading up to the attack. He simply lashed out because he suspected something would happen, but nobody had been hurt at that point. Since there was no harm done at the time that he attacked, then he would have found himself in trouble regardless. He attacked somebody who had not provoked him, and that is a crime."

"It can't be called justified self-defense, in other words," Prosecutor Shield murmured. "I believe that this explanation of the case makes sense. It's easy to see why this conclusion can be made, and I don't see any other possibilities regarding who could have committed this crime. He attacked the victim because he thought she would be violent, but he had no evidence to back up such a claim. He attacked her over an argument that never got to the physical stage."

"Also, I want to say that there were no other weapons found at the scene of the crime. There was only the vase as far as we are aware, so even if she did lash out, she wouldn't have had anything to attack with, and in case you haven't already noticed, she isn't exactly strong enough to fend off the defendant, much less the witness on top of that," I said next. "She didn't lash out in the first place, and she had no weapon to fight with. The defendant bears no bruises from attacks. It seems rather clear to me, and I'm sure that you all have come to this conclusion just as I have. The culprit is none other than Jeff Lent!"

The gallery burst into chatter once again, and I looked over to Chrysalis. She knew just as well as I did that nobody was going to be believing him anymore. There was no way for him to weasel his way out of this one. The gallery thought that he had committed the crime, and there was a clear outline of the case that showed he was the culprit. He had no options aside from confessing at this point. He had no ways of getting out of this now. 

Judge Frost picked up his gavel and slammed it down once again. It took a while for everyone to calm down, but once the voices all fell silent, Judge Frost looked to me and Chrysalis with an intense gaze. He knew just as well as I did who had committed this crime, and I didn't think there was anything that could be said that could change his mind at this point. The truth was clear as day, and all we needed at this point was a confession from Mr. Lent to seal the deal once and for all. 

"I think there's only one question that remains at this point," Judge Frost commented once he was in control of the courtroom once again. "Mr. Lent. How do you respond to this accusation? Unprovoked assault is a heavy crime, and you have one last chance to defend yourself and come up with an alibi."

"Remember that we will not tolerate any other lies of yours. You have already lied enough to this court today when you claimed that you did not commit this crime. You have openly tried to obstruct the truth from the court here today, and that is a crime that cannot be denied. Even if the attack took place under the terms of self-defense, hiding the truth is a heavy crime," Prosecutor Shield cut in. 

"There's nothing that he can say at this point that will get him out of this mess. The court isn't going to listen to the defendant until after he's proven not guilty, even if we all know the truth behind this case. He can't rely on the one who hired him to defend him anymore. Even if Mr. Strann did say that Mr. Lent didn't do it, he would get in trouble for obstructing justice," Chrysalis whispered. "I can tell that the end is coming soon. In fact, I believe that everyone can feel it. He's not talking now, so maybe he's trying to prolong his safety for as long as possible."

I looked to Mr. Lent, crossing my arms over my chest. Even if he wasn't talking, it was clear as could be that he was stressed. Sweat was forming on his brow, and a heavy frown was on his face. His hands were clenched into fists, and I worried that he would break skin if he held that position for any longer. 

Nobody said anything for the next few moments, and the seconds seemed to crawl on for years. We all stared at Mr. Lent, waiting for him to offer a response to the accusation, though he didn't seem to be eager to do so. I understood why he didn't want to say anything, but he was only making this harder on himself. Remaining silent wasn't going to help him out of this situation. 

The air grew thicker and heavier the longer that we were quiet, and I found myself glaring at Mr. Lent. He had grown almost eerily still, staring down at the floor as if he thought it might swallow him and save him from the accusations of assault piling up against him. Even without the assault charges factored in, he had already done more than enough to obstruct the truth, and he couldn't run away from that either. 

Mr. Lent remained silent for a while longer, and he slowly tilted his head to look at the rest of the courtroom. I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I didn't let him get me down. After all, the end was in sight, and I couldn't back away now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week this case ends yeet
> 
> -Digital


	5. Turnabout Deception, Part 5

**March 12**

**Courtroom No. 1**

**1:30 PM**

**Cotoli Morix**

The silence seemed to stretch on for a thousand years after we asked Mr. Lent for his response. He glanced around at everyone in the courtroom before finally speaking. "How do I respond? You want to know how I respond?! You're being ridiculous! I told you time and time again that I didn't do it, but you still keep on pressing the matter! I don't understand how you can do this in good conscience... If she didn't deserve it, then I wouldn't have attacked her! She was going to hurt him! I could feel it! You're all full of crap when you say that the culprit... That I... Was wrong for doing this! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mr. Lent's voice only seemed to be getting louder, a feat that I found impressive given how loud his voice had been when he first started yelling at us. 

"Witness, please calm down," Prosecutor Shield instructed, narrowing his eyes. 

"I can't calm down, because you don't know what constitutes as dangerous in any situation! I'm the security guard! I've done more with my life than any of you could ever hope to try! You don't understand what I do, and you're all absolutely ridiculous for thinking that I'm the one to blame here!" Mr. Lent went on. He slammed his hand into the witness stand with each word for the sake of emphasis, and all I could really do was stare in surprise at him. I hadn't expected his reaction to be so sudden and loud. 

"Please take a deep breath and step away for a second if you need to," Judge Frost told him, his gaze stern. I could tell that he didn't know what to say aside from that, so he went back to being quiet shortly afterwards. 

"I've been protecting him for years! I know exactly what's dangerous for him! I couldn't fail again, so I did what I had to in order to get her to back off! You don't know what we've seen, so you have no right to even think about judging us for what's happened in the past! Back off already!" Mr. Lent was continuing to slam his palm against the witness stand before him, and I could see the stability of the podium beginning to falter. 

"Explain what happened calmly, Mr. Lent," I said, not sure of what else I could do to calm him down. 

"I'd never do something like that for pieces of garbage like yooooooou!" Mr. Lent raised his hand in the air just before the last word, and when he slammed it down, the hit to the stand was powerful enough to splinter it completely, and Mr. Lent was left standing there, breathing heavily in his fury. He glared at everyone, and he had the look of a wild animal in his eyes. "Fine! I did it, but if you had seen the things that I have, you would have done just the same!"

"Bailiff, please arrest the witness!" Judge Frost shouted. At those words, a set of bailiffs swarmed into the room and surrounded him without a second thought. When the bailiffs grabbed him, Mr. Lent continued to struggle, muttering vulgar words that I couldn't quite make out as he was dragged from the courtroom. 

I watched as Mr. Lent disappeared from the room, and I could see that Chrysalis was doing the same out of the corner of my eye. We watched as the door shut gently, and I turned my focus to the rest of the courtroom. It seemed that nobody else knew what to do now that he had been taken in either. After all, he had dominated the space for so long, and without that figure at the center of everything, the area felt oddly empty all of a sudden. It was a good thing, don't get me wrong, but it was odd nonetheless. 

Eventually, I looked up to Judge Frost, letting out a small sigh when I did so. He seemed just as surprised by the sudden outburst as the rest of us were. When he managed to fully pull himself back into the situation, Judge Frost reached for his gavel and lifted it before hitting it against the bench before him. "It seems as if we've found the truth behind this case. The culprit has been uncovered, and we can move on to the verdict of this case. Will the defendant please take the witness stand once again?"

Mr. Strann walked up to the stand, and I looked to Chrysalis out of the corner of my eye. She still didn't seem too particularly impressed with him. I couldn't blame her given the way that he had been behaving earlier, and I was right there with her in the suspicious boat. The way that Mr. Lent had talked about Mr. Strann during his final moments in the courtroom were important to think about as well. As far as I could tell, we had another mystery to figure out after this was over, and Chrysalis could see it just as clearly as I could. There was something about this whole situation that simply didn't sit right with me, and that was my first hint to investigate as much as I possibly could. 

"Are there any final objections from the defense or prosecution?" Judge Frost questioned, looking down to me, Chrysalis, Prosecutor Shield, and Anton. 

Prosecutor Shield and Anton looked to each other before the former turned his attention back up to Judge Frost. He shook his head. "The prosecution has no objections," he answered. 

"What about the defense?" Judge Frost asked. 

Chrysalis and I shared a knowing glance. In all truth, we probably didn't need to look at each other given how similarly we thought both in and out of the courtroom, but it was nice to have that extra security. 

When we met eyes, I could see that she was just as determined about looking into the odd relationship between Mr. Strann and Mr. Lent as I was. We were certainly going to have to dive into this when we got the chance later on. Until then, we had to focus on the trial. 

"The defense has no objections," I replied, my hands clenching into fists. Now that Mr. Lent had been exposed as the culprit, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. There was a lot more that we had to take care of, and I wanted to talk to Polly before we left the courthouse as well. Plus, there was the matter of Mr. Strann himself. Overall, there was more on my plate than I ever could have anticipated. 

"In that case, I believe that it's time for me to announce my verdict," Judge Frost proclaimed. He raised his gavel up once again. "This court hereby finds the defendant, Collack Strann, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" 

Everyone in the gallery began to shuffle around as they headed for the doors. I started pulling my evidence together as well, and Chrysalis did the same at my side. "Well... It seems like the case is over," I commented, a small frown on my face. 

"The case might be over, but I believe that this is just the beginning of our investigation to figure out what really happened," Chrysalis told me. "There's a lot that Mr. Lent said near the end that has to mean something. He knew Mr. Strann long before this case took place, and something bad must have happened to make him jump to conclusions like he did about Polly."

"They've definitely been in contact with each other before, but I can't help wondering what those circumstances could have been about... I suppose that all we can do is try to figure it out when we get the chance to investigate for ourselves," I pointed out with a small shrug. "From what I can tell, whatever happened had an immense mental impact on Mr. Lent. It was enough to sway him into being hired by Mr. Strann despite his regularly high bar. On top of that, it pushed him far enough to make him think that Polly was going to lash out at Mr. Strann despite the fact that there was no evidence that she was going to get violent."

"Perhaps it reminded him of a similar incident from the past," Chrysalis suggested with a frown. "I don't know what it was, but I know for sure that we're going to figure it out. We haven't been stopped by something like this in the future, and we aren't going to let this obstacle get in our way now. It's time for us to figure out the truth like we always have. We're the unstoppable team, and something like this isn't going to get in our way."

Chrysalis held up one of her hands, which was closed into a fist, and smiled in my direction. "We haven't given up when something like this has happened before, so why in the world should we start now?" she asked. 

I returned the smile before letting my hand turn itself into a fist as well. I bumped it up against hers before I turned back to the evidence. I finished packing it up before looking back to her. "There's no way that we'll let this stop us. Besides, we're going to have more than a few people working with us in the form of everyone back at the agency. They'd be happy to aid us through this. I'm sure of it," I went on. 

"Exactly. They've done so much for us in the past, and I doubt that they're going to quit helping us out now," Chrysalis agreed. "We have to get back there in order to ask them about it though, so let's head out into the lobby and get this mess over with. I want to finish dealing with Mr. Strann as soon as possible."

"You aren't the only one," I admitted. "Something about him bothers me. If anything, his connection to Mr. Lent only makes him seem more peculiar. We're not going to tell him anything that he wants to know about the cases Oracle has been connected to. I don't think it would be a good idea to bother."

"I agree. Now, let's push through this so that we can get into everything else that we're going to have to deal with later on," Chrysalis said. She picked up the rest of the evidence I wasn't holding and headed for the door. I trailed after her silently. 

**March 12**

**Defendant Lobby No. 1**

**1:50 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

When we got out into the defendant lobby, we were immediately met by a sudden figure rushing towards us. I realized belatedly that said figure was Anton, and he threw his arms dramatically around the two of us. I yelped at the sudden contact until I got used to it, and a small smile appeared on my face at the touch. "Hey there, Anton. I didn't expect to see you here," I remarked. 

Anton giggled and looked up at me. "Thanks for helping P-Polly out!" he exclaimed as I returned the embrace. I could tell based by how red his eyes were that he had been crying over what happened, and I couldn't blame him given how easily he got overwhelmed by situations like this. 

"We did what we had to in order to figure out who hurt her," Cotoli assured him, placing one hand on his head to ruffle his hair. "I'm happy that we were able to figure it out too. Now, there's nothing to worry about. She'll get better soon, and when she does, everything will go back to normal as if this never happened."

I gasped suddenly. "Hey, speaking of Polly... Where is she?" I asked. I glanced around the room, though my view was limited as long as I held onto Anton. I didn't want to disturb him, so I allowed my vision to be restricted. 

Anton pulled back slightly to point over my shoulder where the couch was located. "She's been resting over there," he explained. I realized that he wasn't stammering, and I could tell that he was happy to see us through that fact alone. Granted, it was obvious given his body language and such, but it was still nice to see that from him. Anton only ever stopped stuttering when he felt happy or secure in his environment, and I was glad that we were able to bring such a joy to his life. 

"Do you want to go see her?" Cotoli asked gently. 

Anton nodded. "Elec didn't come by since he had some paperwork to fill out, but he said that he's happy it went well... I already texted him to say what happened," he told us. "He told me that he'd be waiting for us when we got home if we wanted to talk about everything."

"Where did Prosecutor Shield go?" I inquired as we made our way over to see Polly. Now that I was facing the right direction, I could see that she was sitting on the couch with her eyes closed. I assumed that helped with her headache at least a little bit, and if it worked, I wasn't going to judge her for it. 

"He's going back to the Prosecutor's Office since he has other stuff to do," Anton replied. "But he told me that he's happy we were able to figure out everything involving this case, and he wanted me to pass on that message to you, so... I did!"

"Thank you for telling us that then," Cotoli smiled gently. "We appreciate all that the two of you did to help us find the culprit behind this case. I hope that you weren't too scared when Mr. Lent started to get mad though..."

"I-It was kind of scary, but Prosecutor Shield told me that he'd protect me!" Anton explained with a bright grin. "Everything's okay now! We're all safe!"

I nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You're right. Everything is fine now, and there's nothing for us to worry about anymore," I agreed. "Now, how about we go and see Polly? I'm sure that she's going to want to talk to us before we leave to go home."

Anton took my hand in one of his while grabbing Cotoli's with the other, and with a pull that was much more forceful than you would expect of someone so slight, he dragged us towards where Polly was sitting on the couch. I stumbled at first before finding my footing again and letting him lead me over. 

Polly didn't seem to notice us at first since her eyes were closed, but Anton tilted his head to one side and spoke to catch her attention. "Hey," he said simply. 

Polly's eyes opened, and a small smirk appeared on her face. "Look. It's the people who figured out the case," she remarked. "I was hoping that I'd get the chance to talk to you again before we went our separate ways."

"Good, because we were hoping for the same," I commented. "How are you feeling? I hope that your head doesn't hurt too much, though if it did, I don't think anyone would be able to blame you..."

"Oh, it's pounding. This headache has not gone away since I got hit. The doctors said that I should be alright with a bit of rest, and I'm not supposed to go back to work for another few days to make sure that I'm alright. It's a shame, and it means that Ghastly might slack on doing his work rather than actually try, but I suppose that I can't really object," Polly sighed. "But I think we can focus on that messiness later on. After all, we've got more important things to discuss."

"You're talking about what Mr. Lent said, aren't you?" Cotoli prompted, though he really didn't need to bother. Everyone was already sure of what the answer was. 

"I can't help but wonder... Is that whole deal related to Cade Green? My investigation didn't yield any results, which is immensely frustrating. If Mr. Lent is somehow tied into this whole mystery, then that makes things both easier and harder. It's easier in the way that I finally have a lead, but it's harder because I doubt that he'll be so willing to give up his information. He seems like the stubborn type," Polly commented. 

Anton frowned and tilted his head to one side. "How did you hear what he said? I thought you were out here in the defendant lobby when he confessed to the crime," he commented. 

"I may have been, but he was screaming so damn loudly that I could still hear him," Polly explained bitterly. "It was like a thousand tiny ants were clubbing my head with sharpened knives. I remember everything that he said, as much as I wish I could forget it."

"At least you can use this to try and further your investigation into Cade Green," Cotoli pointed out. "I know it's not a huge benefit, and I understand that it must be frustrating to think about, but... It's something."

"It counts for a little bit, but I don't think I'm going to be celebrating until after my headache goes away. I want to strangle him for hitting me on the head, by the way. Of course, unlike him, I won't actually do it," Polly huffed. 

"He did jump to conclusions when he committed the crime, but... I have to ask why that happened in the first place. It was as if he wasn't thinking properly. He must have been blinded by the events of the past to perceive danger when there was never any in the first place. However, we won't fully understand what happened at the time until we can learn how he's connected to Mr. Strann. I'm sure that will offer at least a few answers," I suggested. 

"I agree in thinking that there must be a reason behind it, but I haven't the slightest clue as to what it could be," Cotoli frowned. "I'm sure that there's something out there that will lead us to the truth, but I don't know where we'll find such information. It seems that we'll have to go digging ourselves. He can tell us the truth, but I doubt that he'll be willing to do something of that nature."

"We have to try and find out something. I've been determined to solve the Cade Green mystery for a while now, and I'm not going to give up now," Polly frowned, crossing her arms as she shook her head. "But I get the feeling that you're in it for a bit more personal reason. After all, you heard the full story behind Cade Green while we were in the courtroom. It must be clear to everyone why you want to find the truth."

I hesitated at her words. She was right in assuming that we had a secondary reason for wanting to pursue this. If Cade Green was really the same person as Carson Rinko, then we had to find out more. Yuri had never mentioned having any relatives by the name of Carson, and if he was connected to her in the way that we suspected, then things were about to get serious. We were going to have to do a lot of digging if we wanted the truth, but I knew that my brother was just as determined as I was. 

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to find the truth for your own reasons. Nobody is going to judge you for it," Polly assured us with a light shrug. "However, we can't find that truth while we're just waiting around here."

"What are you saying? You're going to go home and get some rest until you're feeling better," Cotoli told her, crossing his arms as a stern frown appeared on his face. "I'm not going to waver on this. Go."

Polly sighed and shook her head. "I was planning on doing that in the first place... I wouldn't dare go against you when you get like this. You can be rather stubborn when you want to be, though I suppose it's part of your charm. You wouldn't be Cotoli if you weren't hopelessly stubborn," she remarked. Her gaze fell to Anton. "Let's get going, Anton. We should head back home."

Anton nodded. "I'll see you back home!" he chirped at Cotoli and me. He waved at us before helping Polly to her feet and following her out of the defendant's lobby. We watched as the two rounded the corner out of the room and disappeared. 

I turned to Cotoli once they were gone, letting out a small sigh. "So... On a scale of one to ten, how much are you dreading talking to Mr. Strann?" I whispered. Admittedly, talking to Polly had been a bit of a happy distraction to keep us from talking to Mr. Strann. I didn't want to see him in the slightest. Something about him just bothered me, and I wasn't going to let him get any closer to finding out the truth behind Oracle than he already had. 

Our inevitable conversation with him was likely not going to end well. I crossed my arms when I saw a figure approaching out of the corner of my eye. I didn't have to look in order to see that it was Mr. Strann. He was probably waiting for Polly and Anton to leave before approaching us. After all, he likely didn't have the best relationship with Polly after they got into their huge argument that led to a crime. 

"Thank you for what you did in there," Mr. Strann told us, his voice even and deadpan. If I didn't know better, I would almost think that he was simply trying to start a conversation. I had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it though. 

"We did what we had to in order to find the truth," I replied bluntly. "If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you now that the case has been resolved."

Mr. Strann seemed surprised by my sudden bold harshness, but if he had any open objections to it, he hid them well. He nodded slowly. "If you really want to ask them, then I suppose that I can't stop you. I have a few inquiries of my own that I would like to make," he said. 

"What made you think in the first place that Polly was connected to the Oracle of the Law?" I questioned, keeping my voice as even as possible. I didn't want it to shake from rage and give away that I knew exactly what he was up to with all of this. 

"She's known for investigating in circles both in and out of the Prosecutor's Office. She was involved in the investigation that turned up the truth about missing attorney Dee Fence just a few months. I'm sure that you remember that since your agency was involved. I figured that if anybody had done enough research to know something, it would be here," Mr. Strann answered. He kept his voice just as even as I did, and I could tell that he was onto me being up to something. As for what, I was sure that he was still clueless. 

"You mentioned before the trial that you wanted to ask us about the Oracle of the Law," Cotoli said next, placing a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "You said that you wanted to know more about Oracle as well... What exactly led you to us in the first place?"

"Your agency has been involved with cases that Oracle has been tied up with as well. Out of all the cases that Oracle has been wrapped up in, your agency has the highest number. Can you blame me for being a bit curious?" Mr. Strann questioned innocently. 

"What about Mr. Lent? What is your relationship with him like?" I asked. "It's clear that you two have met before the case took place, so what's the truth behind that? When did you two encounter one another and on what terms?"

"I'm afraid that information is classified. You won't be getting answers about that out of me," Mr. Strann replied, a frown forming on his face. "It would be best if you left the subject alone before it begins to cause problems for you just like it did him."

"Did you know that this crime was going to take place?" Cotoli inquired. The question simple, but it was striking as well, a loud and clear indication of our suspicions of him. 

"How could I have been aware that something of this nature was going to take place?" Mr. Strann scoffed. "I believe that you're jumping to conclusions now. I didn't realize that he was going to go rogue and attack her at the time."

"You were facing Polly at the time that the crime took place. You must have seen him attack her, but you didn't say anything to the police or us," I said bluntly. "Why not?"

"Because the police wouldn't have believed me anyways. No matter what I said, they would have said that I was merely trying to pass the blame onto another. As for you two... How can I be sure that you're trustworthy? I didn't hire you myself. You just showed up," Mr. Strann replied. 

"You're growing rather hostile considering the fact that you believe us to be your ticket to learning more about Oracle," Cotoli commented, his eyes narrowing. 

"You've made it clear that you have no intentions of giving up any information about yourselves, so why would I bother telling you something about me? I'm fully aware of how suspicious you two are. One agency taking on nearly every case that Oracle is involved with? That's rather suspicious, wouldn't you say? I feel as if you are more involved than you are letting on, and if you refuse to tell me the truth, then I don't need to play nice. Information is power nowadays, and if you aren't willing to put some of it on the line, this conversation is over," Mr. Strann told us. He turned on his heel and walked away. 

I rolled my eyes. "Not so much as a thanks for freeing him from charges of assault," I muttered. 

"I get the feeling that he had other reasons for not telling us... Maybe he was trying to see if we would figure it out on our own. Perhaps it was an elaborate test of his," Cotoli suggested. "I can't think of any other reason that he would be so openly hostile and hold back on vital information."

I sighed and shook my head. "Let's just go home. I've had enough of thinking about him for one day. Polly and Anton are waiting, and Elec will be too soon."

**March 12**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Time**

**Unknown Perspective**

"I'm back."

I jumped to my feet at the sound of that voice. "I'm so glad to hear that you're alright! We were both really concerned when we heard that you had been arrested... How did it go? I'm sorry that we weren't able to be there to see what happened, but..." My voice trailed off when I couldn't think of a suitable way to end that sentence. 

He flopped into his seat and shook his head. "It's a long story, and I would rather not get into it at the moment. All that you really need to be aware of is that I'm sure they're involved with this mess somehow. We have the last piece of the puzzle we need," he told me. 

"You're sure that they're involved with this," my brother said from his place nearby. He frowned at us both, and I could hear the disapproval in his voice. "You know that once you put this plan into action that there won't be going any back. This is the last chance to back off if you believe that you're going too far."

The man scoffed and shook his head. "You're being ridiculous if you think I'm going to go back on this now. We've come so far, and we can't give it all up now. For the sake of her safety and the people who aren't able to be saved anymore... We have to move now. We've waited long enough," he replied. 

I hesitated at first before nodding. He knew what was best. I couldn't hope to raise an objection against him when he got like this. I didn't know much about him, but I was sure that he could be stubborn as a mule when it came to things like this. He had gone out of his way to do something deliberately risky, and when we tried to talk him down from it, he refused to listen. This was normal for him at this point. 

My brother watched from a distance. He didn't say much of anything, but I knew what he was thinking. If the man really wanted to accomplish this goal of his so badly, he should come out about it and be honest rather than try to go about it through shady means. We didn't care how much power he had. That would mean nothing if he continued to take so many risks and ignore the potential of danger. 

I looked back and forth between the two before looking down at the ground. There was no hope of backing out once he got started, and I wasn't going to be the coward who stepped away now. As much as I wanted to leave, I was going to have to stick it out to the end. This wasn't going to get the best of me. I was sure of that much. 

No matter what happened, we were going to accomplish our goal, even if we had to go to hell and back to reach it. 

**TURNABOUT DECEPTION**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Case one over daaaaaab
> 
> -Digital


	6. Turnabout Manor, Part 1

"I see... You must forgive me for taking up so much of your time with this. I didn't mean for us to talk for this long. My apologies."

_"It's alright. I don't mind at all that we were able to discuss all of this. I must apologize for not being able to help you more. I can't imagine how disappointed you must be to realize that I don't know enough to aid you in your search."_

"It's okay. We can determine more about this in the future with some research. I look forward to hopefully seeing you again, assuming that you aren't uncomfortable with speaking to me again. I wouldn't want to force you into anything."

_"You aren't forcing me into this at all. I'm happy to help you here. I hope that you can find the answers that you're looking for, whatever they are."_

"I'll do what I can... If there are any updates, I'll be sure to let you know because of what you did for us. I truly do appreciate it."

_"Thank you. Until we meet again."_

**"You aren't going to get away from all this. There's no way that you can escape."**

"I don't understand... I--"

_"Hey! Let me out of here! I don't know what I did, but--"_

**"And with that, we have tied everything together... Do forgive me for what I had to do today, but... A job is a job, and I will do what I must in order to draw out my target. You will not escape me this time... That is something I simply will not allow."**

**April 12**

**Morix Law Offices**

**9:45 AM**

**Lily Shield**

I woke up and headed to the office with a smile on my face. Today was supposed to be a pretty special day as far as I could tell. Mr. Morix and Chrysalis said that they had a surprise prepared for us, but they didn't tell us anything about what that entailed. I found myself incredibly excited to figure out what it was they had up their sleeves, so I dashed to the office with hopes of finding out before everyone else. 

They said for us to be there at ten, but I realized that I hadn't gotten there early enough to be the first one to learn the story. Yuri and Victoria had already beaten me there. I was rather surprised to see Yuri there so soon given how she was not the type to show up anywhere on time. She was late nearly everywhere that people needed her, but she had decided to arrive on time this one time. Just my luck. 

"I'm surprised that you came here early to see what we had in store for you," Mr. Morix commented, his eyes wide. His expression soon relaxed into a smile. "Deirdre isn't here, but I think I want to go on and tell you about the surprise. I doubt that you'll want to wait much longer anyways." He paused to clear his throat before speaking again. "Well... Let's just say that things are changing a bit around here. We've invited a few new faces to join the agency."

I let out a gasp, my hands flying to my mouth. I had been sure that we weren't going to be welcoming new members to the agency after what happened the year before. The betrayal of Cormous Arme, or, to be more accurate, Marcus Moore, rattled the agency to its core. We weren't sure of what was going to come next when we moved towards the future for the agency, but it was widely assumed that we weren't going to be seeing anyone new join the group. 

"Are you serious? I didn't think that anybody new would be coming into our group after what happened with Cormous," Yuri remarked, taking the words right out of my mouth. "You do know what you're doing with this, right? We aren't going to be randomly betrayed by somebody who we thought was reputable but turned out to be a twisted assassin who went missing over a decade ago?"

"We know how to make good decisions, Yuri," Chrysalis commented dryly with a shake of her head. "We said that we weren't going to bring on anybody that we didn't know and trust. We know the people in question, and that's the only reason that they were allowed to come on as part of our team. In fact, some of you are familiar with who we are referring to as well."

Mr. Morix crossed his arms. "If you recall, last year we took on a case that involved a local nature preserve. The defendant and witness were twin lawyers working for another nearby law agency. They have since shifted over to work elsewhere, and we are welcoming them in as part of our team," he replied. 

The door opened from behind me, and I turned to see two familiar faces appear in the doorway. A wide grin appeared on my face. "Hey!" I exclaimed. 

Felicity and Sky Amaya appeared in the entryway to the room, both of them looking rather excited. Felicity had shameless glee in her eyes while Sky had a nervous glaze over his irises, and he waved nervously when we looked to him. 

"Welcome to the group," Mr. Morix said simply, gesturing to the two newcomers. "I know that this probably isn't how you expected to be introduced to everyone, but... I hope that it works well enough for you."

"Hey, everyone!" Felicity exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Felicity Amaya. It's a pleasure to finally get to talk to all of you after hearing so many stories about all the exploits the members of this agency have been involved with."

"You've heard about us?" Victoria questioned, her fingers raising to her hair to play with the edges of it. "I didn't realize that we were popular or famous enough to have rumors about us... I don't know if popular or famous would be the words to say either, but... Oh, I'm going to stop talking now. I think you know what I mean."

"Of course!" Felicity exclaimed. "Think about it. You've been involved with a bunch of cases that the legendary Oracle has been wrapped up in. That has to get a lot of people interested, you know?"

"You could certainly say that it's interesting..." Chrysalis whispered, looking away from them with pink in her cheeks. "A lot of people have mentioned that they're curious about this stuff, but... You two are some of the only people that we would actually allow inside. After all, this has caused us problems int he past, and we need to know people involved before we say that it's alright for them to join the agency."

"You mean what happened last year, right?" Sky asked, a small frown on his face. "I remember hearing that a member of your agency turned out to be a dangerous criminal on the run from the authorities... I'm not saying that I blame you or anything. After all, you couldn't have known, and people like that are always good at hiding the truth from the people around them."

"Yeah. We weren't planning on allowing anybody else to join our group, but... Blocker Law fell apart after Ms. Fence died, and since you two were working there and we happened to know you already... We decided that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to allow you to join our ranks. I hope that you enjoy your time here," Mr. Morix said. "Now, we should probably get to official introductions. You do need to know everybody here if you're going to be joining the group."

"My name is Lily Shield, though... I'm sure that you guys already knew that. After all, we met whenever the cast at the nature preserve took place last year. I remember thinking that you guys were both neat, so I'm glad that we'll be able to get to know each other better while working together. It's nice to welcome new faces to the agency. You've got a family in us now, and you had better not forget it!" I explained, shooting them both a thumbs-up and a wide, optimistic grin. 

"I remember you now! You're the one that Sky thought was cute!" Felicity chirped. 

Sky's face went bright red at those words, and his face seemed to blend in with his hair all of a sudden. "I... I didn't say anything like that! You merely misinterpreted my silence when you asked me what I thought about her!" Sky exclaimed, looking away. He buried his face in his hands a few seconds later, a sigh forcing its way through his lips. 

Felicity shook her head, though the grin on her face was still as wide as the horizon itself. "Alright, if you say so... I guess we should leave all that talk for later when we've been properly introduced to everyone already," she said with a shrug. "I don't want embarrassing you to be our shared first impression."

"I'm Yuri! I might look small, but you had best not underestimate me. I have all the chaos in the universe on my side, and I will not hesitate to unleash it on anyone who dares to push me too far," Yuri grinned. She clapped her hands together when Sky stared at her in confusion. "Oh, I'm just joking. I promise I'm not a world-eating monster trapped in the body of a teenager... And even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. That seems like a second year of work kind of secret."

"This is... Certainly going to be an interesting place to work," Sky smiled, a laugh finding its way from his lips. "I don't know what I expected to find here, but it most certainly wasn't this."

"My name is Victoria. It's nice to meet you both," Victoria said, a light smile on her face. She didn't say anything more than that, likely because she was afraid she would find a way to make it awkward. I couldn't blame her in the slightest for being concerned given her tendency to ramble on when she got onto some subjects of conversation. 

"Of course, you already know me and Chrysalis," Mr. Morix remarked, placing a gentle hand on his sister's shoulder. That showed how distinct the height difference was between them, and if I wasn't used to it, I knew for sure that it would have shocked me. 

"Yeah. You kind of had to know us in order to get this job," Chrysalis remarked, a light smile on her face. I could tell that she was faking it as she did for all new people. It took some time for Chrysalis to show her genuine self to the rest of the world. In fact, it wasn't until recently that she stopped holding back around Victoria, and she had been working with Chrysalis at the agency for over a year. 

Felicity laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. I saw you both during the interview process, and then there was that time you defended me from murder charges a while back... Thanks again for that, by the way. I know I wouldn't be here to work at this agency if not for that favor you did me, so thanks," she said brightly. 

"No problem," Mr. Morix replied, giving her a light ghost of a a smile. 

Yuri pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed a button on it to see what time it was. "You know... It's kind of weird," she commented. "Deirdre still isn't here yet. That's so odd for her. She's normally early for everything, and given that even I got here before I was supposed to, it's weird that she hasn't come yet. I doubt she randomly decided that today would be the perfect day to be on time for something, but... If she didn't make this decision consciously, then what happened?"

"I'm sure she's fine," I smiled. "She wouldn't find herself wrapped up in trouble. You know Deirdre. She might be the most lawful person under this sun when it comes to following the rules. She's definitely the least chaotic member of this agency... No offense, Mr. Morix."

Mr. Morix opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off when the phone suddenly rang. The sound echoed throughout the room, and a perplexed expression appeared on Felicity and Sky's faces. Chrysalis walked over to where the phone was situated on the counter. "I got it," she declared, picking it up and pressing the device to her ear. 

The room fell silent as we waited to figure out what Chrysalis was hearing. A frown was on her face at first, though this quickly disappeared to form an expression of horror. I felt my stomach do backflips within my torso. She couldn't be hearing something too awful, right? This was meant to be a happy time! Please don't rain on our parade, universe!

Chrysalis murmured something into the phone, and she placed the device back in its spot. "Alright... It looks like this little introductory session is going to have to end early. I just got a call from Deirdre, and... Something's happened," she told us, her voice deadly serious and quiet. 

"What happened?" Yuri questioned quickly, clearly just as anxious as the rest of us were. 

"She's been arrested as a suspect of murder," Chrysalis replied, a frown forming on her features once again. "She's down at the detention center now."

I let out a gasp. "You can't be serous!" I cried. "We have to go and defend her! I don't know what happened, but I'm positive that she didn't do it!"

"Maybe this would be the perfect chance for Felicity and Sky to show us what they're made of," Mr. Morix remarked, though I could tell he was rattled despite how well he outwardly seemed to be keeping his cool. "Lily, you seem really enthusiastic about doing something for Deirdre, so why don't you take them to the detention center? They can meet Deirdre, and then you can head to the crime scene to look for the evidence you'll need in order to defend her when the case goes to court. I assume that will be happening tomorrow."

I looked to the other two, and they didn't show any objections openly. I nodded when they didn't oppose the suggestion. "Alright. Let's go on and do it then!" I exclaimed. I headed for the door, and the other two trailed after me. 

I pressed the button for the elevator and waited for it to come up. I didn't know what had happened behind this case, but I was sure that there was an explanation. There was no way Deirdre would kill someone. I was positive of that fact. I just had to figure out who framed her and prove that she was innocent. Hopefully, Felicity and Sky would be able to help me out on that front. This was going to be true test to see how talented they were as defenders of the innocent. 

**April 12**

**Detention Center**

**10:30 AM**

**Lily Shield**

When I walked into the detention center alongside Felicity and Sky, I glanced around to see if I could find any traces of Deirdre. Soon enough, my gaze settled on the other side of the glass, and I realized that she was there waiting for us. A frown appeared on my face as I pulled up a table from against the nearby wall and sat down in it, giving Felicity and Sky the other chairs. 

"Hey, Deirdre," I remarked, unsure of what else I was supposed to say. She was clearly upset, though she was trying to hide it behind a light smile. Deirdre had always been pretty good at hiding her emotions, and getting arrested clearly hadn't changed that fact. I just hoped she wasn't going to try and bottle this up to an unhealthy degree. That wouldn't help anyone. 

Deirdre looked to Sky and Felicity, her smile fading away until it had been replaced by a frown. "Who are these two?" she asked. 

"Remember how Mr. Morix said that he had a surprise for us? Well, the surprise was that we were getting two new coworkers, probably the last ones for a while. Meet Felicity and Sky Amaya. They're going to be joining me on this case, and they'll be part of the agency for here on out. I know it's not ideal, but... You three can introduce yourselves now," I explained. 

"I'm Felicity. It's nice to meet you," Felicity said next, placing one hand over her chest as she introduced herself. "I'm sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to get to know each other better after you get out of here. We're going to make sure that you're freed from these false charges as soon as we get the chance to help you out."

"Um... My name is Sky. It's good to meet you," Sky told her a few seconds later. I could tell that he was nervous, and he seemed unable to sit still, constantly shifting in his seat. In a funny way, he reminded me of Victoria. She was always rather anxious when it came to meeting new people, or just talking to others in general. It was part of her charm, and perhaps it was part of his as well. 

"Good morning, you two," Deirdre began, a sad smile on her face as she bowed her head. "My name is Deirdre Brigit. I work at Morix Law Offices, as I'm sure you know... Though I'm afraid that I can't exactly do much to work at the moment. I'm a bit preoccupied with another situation, in case you haven't already noticed."

"You were arrested as a suspect for murder, huh?" I asked, leaning forward to place my elbows on the shelf of the detention center visiting window. "What happened? We need all the details."

"I was invited to go and visit a local prosecutor's house last night. Her name is Callie Umber. She said that she had a few questions for me regarding the cases that our agency has been involved with in the past, and I decided to feed her curiosity," Deirdre began to explain. "I was on my way out of the house when I was pushed into a closet, and a chair was pushed up against the handle to keep me from opening. It wasn't until I used brute force to break the chair that I was able to get out, and I smelled blood afterwards. I followed my nose until I realized where it led... Callie Umber had been stabbed to death, and her body was on the ground of the room we met in."

My eyes went wide. "Wow... That's pretty intense," I murmured, unsure of what else to say. The imagery was already quite firm and gory, and I wasn't entirely sure of how I was meant to respond to that. 

"What did you two talk about?" Felicity questioned, a frown on her face. "I bet that it was something important if she thought it was a good idea to invite you into her home to discuss it."

"Our agency has been involved with a few cases that had to do with the Oracle of the Law. These are coincidences, to put it simply, but not everybody thinks that it's mere chance that has us wrapped up in these cases. She was wondering if I learned anything about a given subject because of this," Deirdre replied. 

"What was this given subject? Don't tell me that she was asking about Oracle again. Mr. Morix and Chrysalis said that they already had somebody ask them about that during the most recent case our agency took on," I remarked, a groan leaving my lips at the mere thought. 

"No, it was involved very little with Oracle actually... It was more focused on a person who went missing a while ago," Deirdre answered. "She asked me about Oracle, the fall of Occisor, and the cases we got involved with that had to do with the Emsthorpe crime ring assassins. I didn't have much to say about any of them though."

"Yeah... Occisor fell a few years ago, and the Emsthorpe ring is still a mystery, even if we've uncovered two of its members in the past," I murmured. "I suppose Oracle would be the thing that you know the most about out of those three, but it's still not all that much when you look at the bigger picture."

"She questioned me on if I had come across any information about a given person in my research, but I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about. She wanted to know more about Cade Green," Deirdre said next. 

I gasped. "Isn't that the same person that Prosecutor Burke was questioning about during the case that took place a few weeks ago?" I asked. 

"As a matter of fact, yes. I don't know why Prosecutor Umber was so curious as to what happened with Cade Green, but she seemed to really want to know the truth. Maybe you could ask some of the people at the crime scene. I'm sure that they've tried to look into something like that already," Deirdre remarked. 

"What happened for you to wind up as the suspect of this murder?" Felicity asked. "Lil-Bil seems pretty sure that you didn't commit the crime, but we still want to hear your side of the story from what happened when you were arrested."

"Lil-Bil?" I echoed, feeling my cheeks go pink at the mention of the nickname. 

"Felicity nicknames literally everybody. You get used to it after a while," Sky explained. "It's just a matter of time until everybody at the agency winds up with a nickname. We can talk about that more later though. For now, let's move to the subject of the arrest."

"I agree," Deirdre nodded. "I followed the scent of blood to the scene of the crime last night, and that was when I found the body. I was shocked by the sight and went to grab my phone from my pocket, but I was cut off when another person entered the room. I would later learn that this was the victim's daughter."

"You were spotted at the crime scene by the daughter of the victim?" I asked, a frown on my face. "That's certainly not how you want to start explaining the case."

"I would agree completely... The victim's daughter works as a detective, and she arrested me on the spot. Perhaps it was paranoia that led her to such a conclusion, which I can't blame her for... She called the police, and when they arrived, they conducted their investigation and decided that she was right to take me in as the primary suspect. That's how I wound up here. They all decided that I was the most likely culprit behind the case, and there wasn't much that I could say to fight back against their accusations," Deirdre replied. 

"It's going to be tough to worm you out of that one, but... Did they see the broken chair from when you were locked in the closet?" Sky questioned. "Surely that would make it seem like you were telling the truth when you said that you didn't commit the crime... It's not like you would break a chair like that on purpose."

"The closet was in a somewhat isolated part of the building. Prosecutor Umber's home is less of a house and more of a manor, to be honest. It's huge, and it wouldn't surprise me if the police missed something when looking the area over," Deirdre replied. "If I had to guess, they didn't believe me, and they didn't bother to follow up on it since they assumed from the start that it would be false. I didn't see any familiar faces when I was brought here, so I don't know for sure if you'll be able to collaborate with the detectives on this case."

"A murder in a manor, huh..." Sky murmured, placing one hand on his chin. "I wonder what this could mean when we get closer to figuring out the truth. Since the area is so big, maybe the culprit used that to their advantage and was able to hide elsewhere to ensure that they weren't caught when the police arrived."

"Whatever they did, they must have left behind some evidence of what happened. There's always proof, and it's our job to figure out what that evidence is," I declared. "Is there anything else that you want us to know about the case, Deirdre? We should probably go and investigate the case to ensure we're ready for the trial."

"I think that might be a good idea too, especially since the trial sounds like it will be taking place tomorrow, as much as I hate to say it," Deidre told us, frowning to herself. "As for anything else that I want you to know... I'm not sure if there's anything particularly notable that you would want to be aware of, but... It would certainly be worth asking the people involved with the case about Cade Green. I'm sure that if you bring up the fact that the victim was interested in learning something about him, the prosecution will want to figure out more about him as well."

"In that case, it seems like we'll have to add that to our to-do list for once we arrive," Felicity remarked with a smile. "We can totally do that. I just wonder what it could mean... But who in the world is this guy in the first place? You two seem to know something about him that I'm not aware of, and I need to be as informed as possible if I'm going to help out on this case."

"Cade Green was a previous head of Interpol. He went missing after he was exposed. Interpol never reveals the identities of its agents, but his true name was revealed to the world, and he went missing soon afterwards," Deirdre began. "Last month, there was a case where some members of our agency were involved with someone who was attacked while trying to learn more about him."

"Nobody knows what happened to him. It's a real mystery... But I don't know why the victim would be so curious about what he was up to all these years. The rest of us are clueless, so why would she think that you of all people might have the answers she was looking for?" I questioned, shaking my head. "I guess that's something else we'll have to look into while we're at it, assuming it's even possible to find the answer in the first place."

"There's no harm in asking about it at the very least. Even if we turn out to be unsuccessful in figuring out the answer, we might as well do some digging to see what we can learn," Sky pointed out. "It wouldn't hurt our case in the slightest."

"It sounds like this case is certainly going to be something interesting," Felicity commented, shaking her head. "We won't know what it contains until we go down to the crime scene to investigate for ourselves though, so perhaps we should get a jump on doing that sooner rather than later."

"I hate to leave you when everything is moving so fast, but I think that Felicity has a point," I remarked with a frown, looking to Deirdre in worry. "I know that you guys have all just met, but... We're going to make sure that this works out well. That much is a promise."

"I trust you," Deirdre assured me with a small yet firm nod. A smile was on her face, but I could tell that she was faking it. "I know that you're short on time as it is, so you don't need to come back here after the investigation is finished. You can tell me all that I might need to know before the trial tomorrow. Until we meet again, I pray that you have good luck in finding out more information." 

"We won't let you down!" I chirped, rising to my feet with a grin on my face. "We aren't going to let you be put in jail permanently for a crime that you didn't commit. We'll find a way to figure out who committed this crime, and once we do, we'll make sure that they pay for what they did. That much is a promise!"

"Thank you for all this," Deirdre said gently. "Now, don't stay here. You have a lot to take care of, and I don't want to be the one to distract you from what else you have to take care of."

I waved goodbye to Deirdre as I pushed my chair over against the wall again. When I left, Sky and Felicity trailed after me. I led them outside and let out a sigh. "It looks like your first day of work is going to be rather eventful," I commented, shaking my head. "This always seems to happen at our agency, but... I suppose that it could be worse. Mr. Morix trusts that you guys know what you're doing when it comes to the courtroom, and I believe in him, so... This will turn out well. I trust that you have some idea of what we should be doing next."

"The crime scene needs to be investigated! It's as simple as that," Felicity declared firmly, placing her hands on her hips. "I don't think that fact can be debated in the slightest."

"You act like we would want to debate you on something that important," Sky murmured with a shake of his head. "You've been working at the agency longer, so you know how it works around here. Lead the way. We'll do what you tell us to."

"In that case, let's get right down to business!" I announced. I wasn't going to let this case get me down. After all, I had to be a good role model for my new coworkers, and I refused to fail on such a simple front! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially on summer break now fellas epic
> 
> -Digital


	7. Turnabout Manor, Part 2

**April 12**

**Umber Manor**

**12:00 PM**

**Lily Shield**

When we arrived at the crime scene, I was overwhelmed with emotion, and the best word I could use to describe how I was feeling was shocked. 

I knew that Deirdre told us this place was big. She said as much when we were visiting her at the detention center. However, she didn't come anywhere close to telling us just how big this place was, and all I could do was stare up at it in shock from the outside once we arrived. I knew that we would have to head inside eventually, but until that time came, I was content with just staring at it in awe. 

Felicity and Sky seemed to be just as surprised as I was. "It looks like the victim was richer than we thought," Felicity whispered. She took the first step toward the building and gestured for me and Sky to follow after her, something I did without objecting. If the outside of the manor was this incredible, the inside had to be even better. 

Felicity opened the door for us, and I nodded my thanks to her as we stepped inside. A gasp left my room as soon as I saw how huge the place was. Was it somehow bigger on the inside? It certainly looked that way. The entryway alone seemed to stretch up to the sky, and when I sighed in wonder, the sound echoed before coming back to my ears. Judging by the wide eyes Sky and Felicity had on their faces, they were just as surprised as I was. 

Sky was the first one to snap out of his trance when he saw an officer walking by. He gestured for us to follow his lead as he walked up to the police force member. "Excuse me... We're here to investigate the case. We're defense attorneys," he began to explain, fidgeting with his badge as he spoke. 

"We would like to know where the crime scene is located," I said next, seeing that Sky was starting to get nervous. 

The police officer examined us with an eye of judgement before pointing down the hallway that he had just come from. He continued to glare at us as we walked past, and I resisted he urge to roll my eyes. The last thing we needed was for someone to get mad at us when we had just arrived at the scene of the crime, so I held back, but I got the feeling that Felicity and Sky were able to sense exactly what my sarcastic brain was thinking. 

I followed the directions of the officer and led Felicity and Sky to the area where the crime took place. I could hear distant chatter, and I knew that we were getting closer. I strained my ears to try and pick up some familiar voices above the general noise, but I found that I was unable to make out any specific words in the din, and I gave up on trying to find out more information until we got there. 

An open door rested at the end of the hallway, and I looked to Felicity and Sky before walking inside. Just like the entryway, this room was huge. I could tell how rich the victim was just at a first glance, and I found my jaw dropping. I felt oddly underdressed despite wearing what I did to work every single day, something that was fancy enough as it was. I bit my lip as I glanced around, trying to take in all the details that I could about the scene of the crime before I was forced to address the elephant in the room. However, I found myself unable to avoid it, and I let out a small sigh before letting my gaze drop to the body. 

Surprisingly enough, it was still there, but there was an outline of tape around it as well. The victim was a middle-aged woman with short hair, and she had been stabbed once in the chest. There was blood all over the ground around her, and I cringed at the sight of crimson staining the lovely decorations of the room. I felt immediate sympathy for her, even if I had never met her before, and decided internally that I was going to figure out a way to find out who the culprit was. They weren't going to be getting away with such a horrific crime so long as I was on the job, and that was a promise. 

"You must be the defense on this case."

I turned upon hearing a voice over my shoulder. I found myself gasping when I saw a pair of familiar figures. "Ah, hello!" I exclaimed. Aidan Hayes and Mukuro Erikson looked back at me, and relief flooded my body at the realization that we weren't going to be dealing with the case on our own. We were going to be able to ally ourselves with the detectives. Thank goodness. 

"Hey!" Mukuro grinned, waving excessively. "I suppose it was just a matter of time before somebody from your agency showed up... But I do have to wonder... Who are these two?"

I looked over to Felicity and Sky. "Ah, they're new lawyers. They're pretty new to the group, so it doesn't surprise me that you weren't aware. In fact, I wasn't aware of such up until earlier today," I explained. "Meet Felicity and Sky Amaya. They're helping me out with this case, and I'm going to show them how we handle things at Morix Law Offices."

"That's nice," Mukuro smiled. "I'm going to be working on this case alongside Aidan here. Detective Wattson decided that it was time we work on a case together, and while my dad was a bit unsure at first, he eventually gave into it. Plus, we're going to be able to cooperate with the prosecution on this one..."

"You just got here, so I guess you don't know who the prosecutors are on this case..." Detective Hayes murmured, fidgeting nervously on the spot. "I shouldn't be too surprised by that, but... Let's just say that this case is causing a bit of an uproar."

"What sort of uproar?" Sky questioned, nervousness appearing in his eyes. He began glancing around the room to try and figure out who the prosecutors were on this case, but I could tell that he wasn't finding much success. 

"The chief prosecutor is involved with this case," Mukuro explained. 

A gasp left my lips. "Are you serious? Chief Prosecutor Bespoke is working on this case?" I asked, unable to hold back my shock. 

Detective Hayes nodded. "Yeah, it's him, Prosecutor Vito Cruz, and another prosecutor I don't think you know... He's the victim's son, Anthony Umber," he replied. "While she was alive, the victim was a pretty important figure down at the Prosecutor's Office. She was working there for quite a while up until her death, and her suddenly being murdered has caused a huge stir."

"I can see why..." Felicity murmured, playing with the edge of her hair with a small frown. "I didn't expect the chief prosecutor to be involved with this case though. You would think that he has better things to do, but I suppose that something like this is a bit of a big deal. He would want to find out the truth if one of his star prosecutors suddenly was killed under suspicious circumstances..."

"But he can't really think Deirdre did it," I cut in with a deep frown. "He knows Deirdre. He's been working with her on cases for ages now, ever since she joined our agency. He can't possibly be convinced that she was the one who committed this crime."

"I don't think he is either... He seems more focused on finding the truth. The arrest had already been carried out by the time that he arrived here at the scene of the crime, so he didn't really have much of a say in it. It was another case of people jumping to conclusions, but... In this situation, it's somewhat special," Mukuro began to explain. "I don't really know how else to describe it for now, but you'll know exactly what I'm talking about as soon as you get the chance to dig deeper."

"Why don't you tell us all that you know about the case from start to end? We can use all the information that you could possibly share with us, so you don't need to hold back at all," Sky said, finally seeming to calm down from the initial anxiety of being forced onto the crime scene. 

Detective Hayes shared a small glance with Mukuro before the latter shrugged. "Alright. The defendant was arrested because she was found with the body. The person who found her was the daughter of the victim. Her name is Abilene Umber, and she's the twin sister of the prosecutor on this case I mentioned to be related to the victim from before," Mukuro told us. "Deirdre Brigit was arrested because she was found at the scene of the crime, and she was standing over the body at the time."

"What about the weapon?" Felicity questioned. "I don't see a knife in the chest of the victim, so it must have been removed after she was stabbed to death."

"The knife was taken in by the forensics team. Speaking of, we have the autopsy report finished. I suggest asking Chief Prosecutor Bespoke for it. He wound up taking an extra on accident, and we had to give our last copy away to a grumpy police officer who asked for it," Detective Hayes said next. 

"That must be the person who we passed on the way here," I sighed with a shake of my head. "Was this grumpy officer generally rude and looked at you like you didn't matter?"

"That's the one," Mukuro said, her eyes wide that I was able to figure it out so quickly. "I see that you've been doing some research on the matter... Well, either that or you got lucky in the hallway."

"I think it could very easily be argued that we didn't get lucky," Felicity joked with a small snicker. She shook her head to change the subject shortly afterwards. "Well, there has to be something else for us to talk about. Are there any other important details that we should know about the case? What exactly is the special situation that had the defendant getting arrested?"

"The daughter of the victim is a homicide detective at the local precinct. As soon as she arrived on the scene, she believed that the defendant had committed the crime. Prosecutor Umber arrived soon after and decided to help her look around, and he came to a similar conclusion. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke doesn't seem as convinced of her guilt, and the same applies to Prosecutor Cruz, but Prosecutor Umber isn't going to budge an inch. You know how stubborn some prosecutors can be," Mukuro went on. 

I let out a playful sigh and shook my head. "Oh, you have no idea," I remarked, thinking about my brother. If he wasn't proof of how stubborn prosecutors could be, I didn't know who was. It was incredible how firm he could be when he got caught up in his own ways even in the face of opposition. 

"Why don't you start looking around and talking to the people here? I think that it's pretty important that you get the chance to finish your investigation before the day ends given that the trial is tomorrow. You really don't have all that much time to prepare for cases like this," Detective Hayes told us. 

I looked to Felicity and Sky before nodding. "Well, it seems that we have our work cut out for us. Why don't we start looking around? We can begin by talking to the victim's daughter since I bet we'll have to see her during the trial tomorrow," I suggested. The other two nodded, and we waved Mukuro and Detective Hayes farewell before stepping away. 

I could see a woman nearby that I didn't recognize, and I suspected that she was the Abilene Umber person that we were meant to be looking for. I walked up to her, a small smile plastered on my face. "Greetings," I began simply. 

The woman looked up to me, and I was able to fully take in her appearance. She had brown hair reaching her waist that faded out to blue and purple at the edges. On her head was a large black hat that seemed to be larger than her head itself. She wore a black jacket reaching her knees over a purple shirt with dark trousers. Her shoes were blue in color and rather dressy while still maintaining a casual look. She had blue fingerless gloves on as well. Her left eye was blue while her right was purple. 

"Um... Who might you be?" the woman questioned, and I noticed that her eyes were slightly puffy, and I instantly came to the conclusion that she had been crying. That didn't surprise me in the least given that the victim of this case had been her mother. I would be just as upset, if not more so, had I been in her shoes. 

"My name is Lily Shield. These two are Felicity and Sky Amaya. We're part of the defense team for this case," I began, bowing my head in her direction. "If it's alright with you, we were hoping that you would be willing to answer a few questions for us."

The woman stared at us for a moment, and disdain crept into her eyes before she quickly covered it up with a passive expression that I couldn't quite place anywhere. "It's nice to meet you," she told us, but I could tell instantly that such a statement was fabricated. I doubted that she was going to open up and tell us the truth, so I didn't bother pushing it given the fact that we didn't know her at all. I didn't want to bother her too much given that she was going to be our key to finding out the truth behind the case. 

"It's nice to meet you too," Felicity said with a smile. I couldn't tell if she was unaware of how passive aggressive the woman was behaving, but if she was, she hid it masterfully. "What's your name?"

The woman took in a small breath before speaking once again. "I'm Abilene Umber. I'm a homicide detective, but... You probably know of me since I'm the daughter of the victim and a witness to this incident," she replied. 

"I'm sorry for your loss," Sky told her with a small frown. "I understand that this must be hard for you, and you have our deepest sympathies."

Detective Umber shrugged. "It's alright... You don't need to worry about me. What is it you want to know?" she asked. "You must have come over here to ask me something, right?"

"Tell us everything that you know about the crime. What led you to suspect the defendant?" Felicity questioned first. 

"I saw her standing over the body. I figured that she had committed the crime, so I immediately grabbed my handcuffs and restrained her to ensure that she didn't cause any other problems. I held her in the room until the police arrived, and my brother agreed that she was suspicious and had her arrested. From there, it's pretty much history. I'm sure you know the rest decently well," Detective Umber replied. 

"Can you tell us about the lead-up to the crime? Did anything happen that struck you as odd?" I inquired next. I hoped that she would be able to tell us more outside of merely what she had told us about suspecting Deirdre, because we knew that already. If we were going to win this case, we would need some new information that could turn all of this around in our favor. 

"Hm... My mom said that she was going to be inviting somebody over to talk to her about something she had been investigating for a while, but she didn't tell us who it was. I suppose it never came up. I wasn't home at the time the murder took place. I was at work, but I arrived back here shortly before I found the defendant standing over the body. That was when I arrested her and all that fun stuff," Detective Umber went on. 

"Can you offer us more details about what your mother was investigating?" Sky asked. I got the feeling he wasn't asking about the person who the victim asked to come visit since he knew just as well as I did that the person in question was Deirdre. Why bother asking about it when we're already fully aware of the truth? We had bigger fish to fry in that moment, after all. 

Detective Umber looked at us for a moment before shaking her head. "No, sorry. I'm afraid that it's confidential, and I'm not supposed to be talking about it to anybody. I don't think it will help you to figure out more about the case, and I'm not going to violate her privacy," she finally replied.

Felicity looked flabbergasted. "What? But we're trying to help you solve the truth behind who killed her. We're going to need all the information we can get, and you can't hold back on us now. We're not going to let the culprit get away with this, but we need you to talk to us if we're going to find the full truth," she said firmly. 

Detective Umber shook her head. "Listen, I really can't tell you this. It's not something that you're going to want to hear, and it's just going to cause more problems than it solves. I'm not going to put my neck on the line over something like this. If you want information, you're going to have to find it elsewhere," she told us. 

I looked to Sky and Felicity, unable to keep the frown off my face, before turning my attention back to Detective Umber. "You sound like you think you're in danger... Did something happen to make you believe that somebody was after you? If that's the case, then that truly isn't acceptable, and we'll do what we can in order to help you out as much as we can," I insisted. 

Detective Umber still seemed hesitant. "It's a long story, and I would rather not go into it right now. If you want to ask me about the case, talk to me about something else. I don't think I can trust you with that information until we get to know each other better, and we don't have time to do that before this case goes to court," she went on. "Just change the subject, okay?"

I made a mental note to bring this up with Sky and Felicity as soon as Detective Umber had walked away, but until then, I cleared my throat and tried to think of something else that we needed to hear about. "Um... Did you see anybody suspicious the day of the crime? Are there any other witnesses who might have been wrapped up in all of this?" I questioned. 

She seemed to relax at the change of topic, and the tension in her shoulders mostly disappeared as she placed her chin in one of her hands. "Hm... There was one person I ran into," Detective Umber finally replied. 

"Who was it?" Felicity asked eagerly, leaning forward in anticipation. I found myself smiling lightly at the idea of this being our first lead. We were finally going to be able to find out something new that could possibly lead us to the truth. 

"It was a man wearing all black... I think I saw him wandering around here wearing a police uniform, so I guess that he's investigating this case. I don't know his name though, so I'm sorry about that, but I hear that he's been particularly grumpy. He speaks with a southern accent as well, if that means anything to you," Detective Umber replied. "That's about all I know though. If you want other details, you're going to have to ask other people investigating the case."

"Will you be testifying tomorrow at the trial?" I questioned, though I was sure that I already knew the answer. I highly doubted somebody so heavily involved with this case was going to be able to back away from testifying once the time came to figure out who committed the crime. 

Detective Umber nodded. "Yes... Now, I have some other business to take care of, so I'll see you later," she said. A few seconds later, she walked away, but I could sense her nervous energy. There was clearly still something bothering her, but I wasn't going to push it and risk getting her upset with us. 

"I wonder what was bothering her," Sky murmured. "She seemed to believe that she was in danger if she spoke about whatever her mother was looking into, but I don't know why some research would put her at so much risk. Maybe somebody else around here will be aware of the truth."

"And if nobody will tell us, then we can just eavesdrop," Felicity said. When my jaw dropped as I looked in her direction, she laughed. "I'm just kidding. Eavesdropping would be a breach of privacy... But if anybody happened to say something helpful while we were in the area, then... Well, that wouldn't be eavesdropping, would it? It would merely a happy coincidence that we happened to stumble upon!" 

"I want to know what was bothering her when the conversation started to... She seemed to have some built-up hostility towards us, but I don't understand why. After all, we've never met her, and I doubt that you have either. She would have said something about recognizing you if you had run into her before now," remarked Sky. He shook his head. "I just don't understand it... What could be putting her in so much danger that she won't tell us about what her mother was investigating? Why did she get so tense when we first introduced ourselves?"

"If she isn't going to answer our questions herself, then I see only one option for us... We'll have to do some snooping of our own," I declared. "We can ask the other people involved with the case for details. If they don't have anything for us, then... We'll just have to wait for the trial tomorrow. The pressure of a courtroom can do a lot to a person, to put it nicely. It's very easy to get somebody to crumble in that sort of environment."

"Here's to hoping that works when the time comes, but until then, how about we go and visit the prosecution? I remember that the detectives mentioned how the prosecution had a copy of the autopsy report for us, so we can go and pick that up from them. I believe that's a natural next step for us," Felicity suggested. 

"Maybe they're elsewhere in the mansion," Sky said. "I don't see anyone who looks like the chief prosecutor in here... He's pretty easy to spot in a crowd, so if he was here, we would already be aware of such."

I nodded. "In that case, let's go and try to find him and the rest of his team," I told the other two. They didn't object, instead nodding their agreement before following me away from the room. I gave it one final glance before walking out into the hallway. 

Something about Detective Umber was still striking me as odd. I didn't know how to describe it, but there was something about her that was strange. Maybe it was because she seemed hostile to us during the start of our conversation. I wasn't sure, but I was going to do my best to figure out whatever it was and what it could mean for our case. 

I saw Chief Prosecutor Bespoke out in the hallway, and a gasp left my lips. I pointed to him, getting Sky and Felicity's attention in the process. I gestured for them to follow me, and they did so without any objections. All thoughts about Detective Umber faded away as soon as we set our sights on him. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke was standing with Prosecutor Cruz as expected, but there was somebody else with him that I hadn't seen before, and I assumed that he was the Prosecutor Umber person that we had heard about prior to this. He had blonde hair that faded to blue and purple at the edges. His left eye was blue while the right one was purple. He wore a black jacket over a purple shirt with black trousers. His shoes were a deep navy color, and he completed the look with blue gloves. The hair that gave way to purple and blue was my main clue that he was related to Detective Umber, and I was sure of it without needing to ask. 

"Prosecutor Cruz!" I exclaimed, waving before walking over to where the three men were standing. They turned upon hearing my voice. 

"I should have expected people from your agency to show up and take care of this," Prosecutor Cruz murmured. "After all, with Brigit as the defendant, it was only a matter of time... So, who are the newbies?"

"Meet Sky and Felicity Amaya. They're the newest members of our team at Morix Law Offices, and they're going to be helping me out on this case," I replied before turning my attention to the man who I assumed was Prosecutor Umber. "Who might you be?"

"Prosecutor Anthony Umber," he answered bluntly. I waited for him to follow up on that and say something else, but when he was silent, I figured it might be best to move onto a different subject that would progress the conversation. 

"We were wondering if there's anything that you might be able to tell us about the case," Felicity said, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "Plus, we heard that you had the autopsy report for the victim, and we were hoping that you would be willing to lend us a copy."

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded before handing us an envelope that had been tucked under his arm. "I figured you would want it," he told us. Something about the few words he spoke was far more intimidating than any speech he could have given about how tragic the situation was. There was an unspoken intensity to him that I didn't know quite how to describe. 

"Could you tell us about the victim in a bit more detail?" Sky questioned. He accepted the autopsy report and held tightly to it, deciding quietly that we were going to look at it after this conversation with the prosecution had drawn to a close. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke sighed before speaking once again. "Callie Umber... She's been working in the Prosecutor's Office for as long as any of us can remember. Her track record is incredible, and she's been assigned to many high-profile cases. She was offered the position of chief prosecutor on multiple occasions, but she turned it down since she believed that she could do more in the courtroom rather than in the office focusing on paperwork. She was an inspiration to many a young prosecutor, and she could mentor just about anyone into becoming an agent of the truth that anyone else would admire. It was incredible what she could do," he replied. 

"And yet, she still found herself as the victim of this horrible crime..." Felicity murmured. "Do you know of anyone who would have a grudge against her? Maybe they killed her because of some history that we aren't aware of at the moment..."

"I doubt that there was anybody who hated her. She simply wasn't the type to make enemies, and I'm sure that these two can back that up," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said. He looked to Prosecutor Cruz first, and while he didn't respond openly, it was clear that he agreed. Next, Chief Prosecutor Bespoke turned his attention to Prosecutor Umber, and the latter nodded his confirmation. 

"There must have been a motive behind this... If we can figure it out, then we should be able to track down the person who killed her. Do you have any ideas right now?" I questioned, a small frown starting to spread across my face. If they didn't know anything about who would possibly have a grudge against the victim, then how were we supposed to find the person who actually killed her and get Deirdre out of jail? 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke looked to Prosecutor Umber. "Well? How about you tell them? You knew her better than any of us," he suggested. 

Prosecutor Umber seemed unsure at first. He looked to me, Sky, and Felicity, a frown on his face. He glared at us for a moment, studying us with a gaze that shook me to my core. I wound up looking away to keep from breaking under the scrutiny in his eyes. 

Prosecutor Umber let out a sigh once he was done visually interrogating us, and he shook his head. "If you think that it would be best for me to tell them, then I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he eventually answered. "Don't come whining to me when this disappoints you though."

I looked to Felicity and Sky, unable to keep the smile off my face. There was a possibility he was going to be able to help us. I didn't like the way that he had looked at us at first, but maybe things were turning around for the better. If he explained everything that he knew to us, then we would be able to find a lead at long last. 

"By all means, continue," I said, ignoring everything that my head was screaming. "We're listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update done heck yeah
> 
> -Digital


	8. Turnabout Manor, Part 3

**April 12**

**Umber Manor**

**2:00 PM**

**Lily Shield**

"The motive behind the case... It's not something that can easily be discussed. I suggest that you investigate through another avenue if you wish to learn more about this case," Prosecutor Umber replied, crossing his arms with a small frown. "I believe that this is something that doesn't involve you, and I'm not going to drag you into it if you aren't already part of this problem."

"You're really not going to tell us?" Sky questioned, a frown forming on his face. "If we're going to find the truth behind this case, we need to know a motive behind why anyone would want to attack her. The more details that you can offer us, the sooner we can figure everything out here."

"I told you that I wasn't going to tell you, and that isn't going to change. For the sake of everyone here, I'm going to have to avoid telling you about what I think the motive could be. You're going to have to trust me on this," Prosecutor Umber told us, his eyes narrowing in anger. 

"Do you know anything?" I asked, directing my attention towards Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Cruz this time. If Prosecutor Umber wasn't going to give me an answer, then maybe one of them would. Granted, I wasn't sure if they knew anything, but it was worth trying to ask about it at the very least. Anything that might point us in the right direction was a blessing as far as I was concerned given how clueless we were. 

"I'm afraid not. Our investigations have all come up short on the matter," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told us. He looked at me for a moment. "Ah, um... We should go and take care of things involving this case. I'm sure that you want to investigate other parts about this murder too, so we'll go on and leave you to it. If you decide that you need our help on anything, then all you need to do is ask. We're happy to help you out."

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke walked away soon afterwards. Prosecutor Cruz hesitated before following after him. Prosecutor Umber glared at me, Felicity, and Sky before sighing and shaking his head a few seconds before he rotated on his heel and left us behind. 

"What are we supposed to do now? He got all clammy when we asked about what the murder motive could have been," Felicity frowned, shaking her head in disappointment. "Do you have any ideas as for what we could do now?"

"I think that we should focus our attention to something else... Most specifically why he got so tense when we brought that up. There must have been a reason, and I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with what stressed out Detective Umber as well. If we can connect the dots, then we can blow this case wide open. Prosecutor Umber didn't seem up to talking about it with people who weren't already aware, so we can just get ourselves in on the loop by looking around," I explained. 

"There's always evidence left behind no matter what the situation is... They can try to hide the truth as much as they want to, but there will be traces left behind somewhere. If we can figure out where those traces are and what they are, then I think our investigation will be greatly benefited," Sky said with a small smile. "For now, where should we start? I don't think there's much of anything for us to look into back in the room with the body..."

"We should try and find the closet that Deirdre said she was pushed into. If we can find evidence that she was locked in there, that will give her an alibi," I answered. "She said that it was on the way out of the building that she was grabbed and pushed into the closet, but it might not be on the beaten path."

"You're right. We have to keep in mind that she doesn't know her way around here like the people who live here do. She could have very easily gotten lost along the way, and that would allow her to wind up in a closet away from the main segment of the mansion, and it would fully explain why nobody's brought it up yet," Felicity agreed. "Let's start looking around. There has to be proof of that around here somewhere. I don't know her that well, but I just don't see Deirdre lying about something like that. She loves the truth and all. If she didn't, she wouldn't be working at the agency."

"The closet was slammed shut behind her, and a chair was shoved under the door handle to ensure she didn't break out. However, she managed to find her way out regardless, so I'm willing to bet that the door suffered some damage in the process. Using raw force like that wouldn't just break the chair... The door would certainly wind up injured as well," I murmured. "That means it's not just going to be a hall closet with the door shut. It's going to stick out a bit more than that because the hinges will likely be off kilter. We can use that fact to help ourselves find the door."

Sky nodded. "You're right... Let's start to make our way back towards the front of the mansion. I didn't see anything that fits that description on the beaten path, but it has to be around here somewhere, and we're going to find it," he declared. He started walking towards the entrance of the manor, gesturing for us to follow after him. Felicity and I did so without a second of hesitation. 

I glanced around as we walked through the building. Somehow, it seemed to have gotten even bigger since the last time we were in the hallways. I knew that wasn't possible, but it was still crazy to me that such a large building could simply exist. People lived here, and it was just part of their daily life. Could you imagine such a thing? I knew for sure that I couldn't, and that was exactly why it was a struggle to keep my jaw from dropping too low in my pure surprise. 

"Hey, let's go down that hallway," Felicity eventually commented, nudging me gently and pointing down a corridor that went off to our left. "We might as well double check it to make sure that it doesn't have the closet we're searching for inside."

I nodded my agreement, and the three of us followed Felicity's directions down the nearby hall. I continued to stare at my surroundings, praying that something would give way to a clue if I glared at it for long enough even if I knew that realistically wasn't possible. 

"Look at this!" Felicity exclaimed, pointing nearby. She gestured for us to come closer as she indicated a closet door. 

There were splinters of broken wood around the entrance to the closet, and if I looked at them hard enough, they sure did seem to resemble a chair. As for the door itself, the hinges were crooked, especially on the top. The upper hinges were barely holding on, and the bottom ones were jolted to one side. The door was never going to sit properly again, further shown by the door having to lean up against the frame in order to have some sense of verticality. 

"It seems that we've found the door," I remarked, looking over the area once again. "There's no doubt about it."

"What do we do now that we've found it?" Felicity asked. "I mean, we don't really have any direct proof as of now that she was the one to break the door like this..."

"I think that we can find proof of that through the power of forensic science," I grinned. "Think about it. If she was locked in the closet, what would she need to do break out?"

"Push against the door," Sky replied. "You're saying that her fingerprints must have gotten on the inside of the closet door when she tried to get out, and that would prove that somebody tried to trap her in there."

"Yes. Why else would she enter the closet unless she was forced inside? Besides, this would also put her inside the closet at the time of the crime, so it would be impossible for the prosecution to say that she killed the victim if she was inside the closet. This little clue will let everything work in our favor," I smiled. "When we head back to the crime scene later on, we can ask Detective Hayes and Mukuro for their help. I get the feeling that they would be happy to aid us."

"I'm glad that we were able to find this place before the trial tomorrow... Imagine how much of a disaster the trial would have been if we didn't stumble upon the closet and damaged chair," Felicity commented. She looked down at the shreds of wood on the floor. "The chair itself is something else entirely... It's been broken up, but... For the most part, the legs were damaged, but the back segment of the chair was able to remain intact."

"Since the chair doesn't have armrests as far as I can tell, that means that the culprit likely used the back of the chair to push it in place and under the doorknob. If we can get the chair tested as well, then chances are that we'll stumble across our culprit," Sky pointed out. "Even if there are no fingerprints on the chair, glove marks would be left behind, and that would show us that somebody definitely pushed her in there."

"And more importantly, the rest of the people in the courtroom would start to believe it as well," I agreed with a small nod. "It's perfect!" 

"Well, it seems like we've gotten the majority of what we need from around here," Felicity commented. She pulled out her phone and took a quick picture of the crime scene. "There we go. We can refer back to this should we need it in the future."

"Maybe we should head back to the crime scene now. After all, we're going to need to tell the detectives about what we found so that the forensics team can get on it," Sky suggested. 

I nodded. "You're right. Let's do it," I said. We started to walk away from the broken closet door and splintered chair soon afterwards, retracing our steps to arrive back in the hallway we had been in before coming across the chair. 

However, we weren't alone this time. 

The grouchy police officer from before was standing in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked far from happy, and all I could do was frown at him when I realized that nothing I could say or do was going to get him out of his bad mood. I glanced over to Felicity and Sky briefly before walking closer to the man. He hadn't noticed us yet, it seemed. 

I tapped him on the shoulder and put on my most pleasant smile with hopes that it would keep him from growing too frustrated. "Excuse us!" I chirped. "Would you mind answering a few of our questions about the case? I promise that it won't take too long."

The officer glared at us for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. "What do you want?" he huffed. "I have other business to attend to, such as keeping children like you away from the scene of the crime." He had a thick Southern accent, and it was strong enough to make me step back in surprise. 

"We're the defense attorneys on the case. We told you that when we first got here," I reminded him, trying to remain upbeat and chipper despite how much he was already frustrating me. I had a sneaking suspicion that questioning him about the case was going to be far from fun. 

"We were wondering if you could tell us more about the case," Felicity piped in. She was smiling as well. A quick glance out of the corner of my eye said that Sky was grinning as well in an attempt to counteract the officer's dismal behavior and harsh demeanor. 

Now that the officer wasn't shooing us off to the crime scene, I was able to get a better look at him. He wore the regular uniform for all officers, and he had dark brown hair that hung somewhat low over his eyes. There was something about his dark eyes that had me uncomfortable, and I had to seriously resist the urge to back away, if not run away, entirely. I couldn't quite describe it, but he made me beyond uncomfortable. I did my best to avoid direct eye contact with him, praying that he didn't take that as an affront to his authority. I knew that some members of the force could be a bit uppity, and I was hoping that he wasn't an example of such. 

"What's your name?" Sky questioned, snapping me back to the issue at hand. 

"Ray Scott," the officer drawled. He uncrossed his arms and rose to his full height, and it hit me just how much taller he was than me. I nearly had to crane my neck to meet his gaze, and it certainly didn't help that he had this weird way of smirking down at me. He relished in the power he had over us, and he wasn't going to let us forget it as long as we were in his presence. 

"So, Mr. Scott," Felicity began, "I was just curious as to what you heard about the case. Is there anything you can tell us? Don't hold back any details."

Mr. Scott rolled his eyes. "Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt... The victim was stabbed to death last night. The defendant did it. That much is obvious," he told us. "There's no evidence to the contrary, so she must have been the one to kill him."

"Do you know of any potential motive that the defendant would have against the victim?" I inquired. I already had a feeling that I knew the answer, but I figured that I might as well try to get a bit more information out of him while we were on this subject. 

"Not everyone kills because they have a motive. Sometimes, people just do it because they like to see other people suffer. Isn't that good enough? Besides, even if there's no motive, it doesn't change the facts. She was the one who killed him, and I don't care how good you are at your jobs. There isn't anything you can do to prove otherwise, so you might as well give up and stop trying. This case is personal for quite a few people involved... Staying away from it is in your best interests," Mr. Scott answered bluntly. 

"What do you mean by that? How is this case personal for a few people tied up in it?" I questioned, trying to stay as friendly as possible despite my growing frustration. Couldn't people just tell us what they meant rather than speaking in riddles? Forgive me for getting a bit annoyed that we were going to have to put the pieces together when we shouldn't have needed to go that far. 

"It's none of your business. I don't have to tell you anything," Mr. Scott said with a loose shrug. "The point I'm trying to get at here is that the culprit of the case was the defendant. That's all that you need to know. Maybe you can plead guilty and get a lighter sentence when this case goes to court. At this point, that's all you can really pray for, because innocence is out of the question."

"We heard that you were here the day of the crime," Sky jumped in next, trying to change the subject. "What would you mind telling us about that?"

"I was here to visit the victim. It's that simple. We have a bit of a history, and I was glad to come and see her when she asked to speak with me. That's all there is to this. I suggest that you back off and avoid from snooping further. There's no point in digging any deeper than you already have, so you should leave this alone and move on," Mr. Scott told us. "There's nothing complicated about this case, but by barging in here and being rude over all of this for no reason, then you're making it more complex than it is. You should just shut up and keep walking. It's for your own good."

"You really don't want to talk to us then," Felicity murmured. 

"Where did you get that impression?" Mr. Scott drawled, his tone deadpan as he rolled his eyes. "Listen, if that's all that you wanted to talk to me about, then let's wrap it up here. In case you haven't already noticed, I'm in charge of this case, and I need to make sure hooligans like you don't get inside of this place."

"We have the confirmation of the chief prosecutor that we can be here," I told him with a smile that was far too sweet for how much I wanted to slap him in that instant. Can you blame me for getting a bit upset that he was actively keeping us from finding out the truth of this case? I'm guessing not, because anybody in my position would be more than a bit frustrated with his behavior. 

"Fine. In that case, don't break anything, and we'll be fine," Mr. Scott huffed. He walked away soon afterwards, leaving me alone in the hallway with Felicity and Sky. 

I waited until I was sure that he couldn't hear us anymore before I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head. "I somehow don't think that he likes us," I murmured. 

"It's so weird... Everybody involved in this case has been getting so tense the second we ask them about if they know anything. It's strange... How are we supposed to find the truth if everyone is being so hostile?" Felicity asked. 

"There seems to be a difference between how Detective Umber and her brother are acting when compared to Mr. Scott though," I pointed out. "In the case of the Umber twins, they seem to be more concerned about the case... Mr. Scott just seemed annoyed that we were speaking to him and wanted it to stop. Even if these incidents are related, I feel like it's in a unique way. I hope that makes sense."

"I get it. You're saying that the Umber twins likely didn't collude with Mr. Scott to keep things hidden. Chances are they talked with each other about not opening up to others, but that didn't apply to Mr. Scott," Sky concluded. "While they're more concerned about something involving the victim, Mr. Scott just doesn't like us... I'm curious as to why he hates us so much, but... I feel like sorting out the twins should be our main priority right now."

"I must say that I agree. We can deal with Mr. Scott tomorrow in the courtroom. I don't think that he'll be able to keep up being all hostile and rude when we have him standing on the podium with the prosecution there as well. Everyone will be against him, and that sort of pressure might get him to loosen up. I'm hoping that it does, because without his testimony, then this case isn't going to turn out well," Felicity frowned. 

"I'm sure that we'll be alright. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke isn't going to let Deirdre wind up in jail for something that she didn't do. It's not in his nature. He's worked with our agency enough in the past to know that she wouldn't do something like this, and he's going to side with us when push comes to shove," I assured her. "For now, let's go back to the room where the body is and see if we can get anything out of the Umber twins. If we can get a bit more information, we can use that against Mr. Scott later on and hopefully get him to open up a shred more."

The other two agreed, and we began walking back to the room of the crime. I frowned to myself as we walked, and I couldn't help but wonder what it was that the twins were hiding. It had to be something important if they were being so insistent on not telling anybody, but I was still concerned about it. I didn't know what we were going to do if we couldn't get them to open up and tell us about what they were aware of. The trial was going to get a lot harder if they didn't say at least something to us. 

We finally arrived back at the room, and I held up my hand to tell the other two to stop when we got close. I peered in the doorway, realizing that the doors were nearly all the way shut now. I frowned and tilted my head to one side. 

"I only see the Umber twins in there," Felicity whispered. "I guess everyone else went to explore the rest of the mansion." 

"Maybe we'll be able to hear them say something important while we're here," Sky suggested. I nodded my agreement, and we all fell silent immediately. 

Detective Umber's voice was the first one that I heard. "So many people are asking questions, and I don't know what to say... I know exactly why someone would want to kill Mom, but what am I supposed to say? I can't tell them, because if I do, everything will fall apart. We'll become the next targets of whoever killed her, and I don't want that. We can't find justice for her if we wind up on the bad side of the culprits," she said nervously. 

"We're going to have to figure something else. I don't want them to get away with this. It would be disgusting to have a killer get away with killing her. We know why, but... Ugh, this is awful," Prosecutor Umber sighed. "We'll find a way to keep our secrets, alright? For the sake of everyone involved with this case, we can't do anything risky. Just do your best to stay out of the line of fire. That's the most that we can do until we know more about the killer."

I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. It sounded as if they knew exactly why their mother died, and not just that, but they were convinced that it would put them at risk as well. I frowned to myself and prayed that their conversation would shift in a direction that gave us the information we would need to learn more on the matter. 

"We can't do anything that might put Father in danger," Detective Umber murmured. "I don't want him to suffer anymore after all that's already happened. He's been through a lot, and if people realize that he's still out there, then we'll be the next target."

"They don't know that we're just as clueless as we are regarding where he is," Prosecutor Umber grumbled. "Asking us about Cade Green is going to end in a roadblock, but they don't seem willing to accept that. It would mean that they actually have to do some thinking of their own, and heaven forbid something like that is necessary."

"Cade Green?" I gasped. Were they talking about the same Cade Green from the previous case our agency had taken on? If memory served correctly, he had once been the head of Interpol, but he wound up having to leave and go on the run when his true identity came to light. 

If that was the case, then that only made things even more ridiculous. Detective Umber and Prosecutor Umber were saying that they were his children, and if that was the case, then everything made sense. The reason the victim died had to do with her previous involvement with a former head of Interpol who people have been searching for since he first went missing. Everyone figured that the first natural step to learn more about him would be to go to the woman that he once spent most of his time with, but then that plan fell apart when others realized that she didn't know anything. 

However, getting close enough to the victim to ask was a risk in of itself, so if they thought she was suspicious, they would have to lash out. That explained everything. The pieces were starting to come together, and if we knew all of this, then we could use it in court when questions started to come up. 

"She didn't know more about him, but people don't seem to get that," Detective Umber huffed. "How frustrating. You'd think that if they were going to put in the effort to find someone who disappeared years ago, they'd at least do a little bit of research, but I suppose that's a bit too much to ask. People sure are frustrating when it comes to this stuff, huh?"

"No objections here," Prosecutor Umber said with a snort. I could hear him rolling his eyes even if I couldn't see it due to his back being turned. "Now, let's go on and get out of here. We have other business to take care of, and I don't want anyone to ask too many questions."

I gasped at the mention of them leaving the room. I gestured for Felicity and Sky to follow me as we dashed away from the door. I leaned up against the hallway about three yards away and began to talk to them as a way of covering our tracks. 

"So, what do you think of Mr. Scott?" I questioned. I heard the door creak open from down the hallway, and footsteps followed. 

"He's an odd one," Felicity replied, catching onto what I was trying to do. "I guess that only time will be able to tell how things work out for talking to him though. We can see how things fare in court, but until then, all we can do is wait."

Sky didn't get the chance to say anything, as all of us stopped talking to watch as Detective Umber walked alongside her brother down the hallway. We waited for them to disappear from view, and I let out a small sigh once they were gone. Felicity and Sky did the same. 

"It looks like everything is starting to come together," Sky remarked. 

"It sure is, but we're going to have to be careful. We can't exactly use what we just learned in court tomorrow. We learned it through eavesdropping, and we don't have any solid proof of such. However, we can use this to get them to talk, and that will make finding the truth much easier," I told them. 

"For now, we should try to find the detectives and see if they would e willing to help us out as far as finding fingerprints on the closet and chair are concerned," Felicity suggested. "We can deal with everything else when the case goes to court tomorrow. How does that sound?"

I nodded my agreement. As if on cue, Mukuro and Detectives Hayes rounded the corner, prompting me to put on my biggest smile as I waved enthusiastically to them. "Hey, you two! We were just wondering where you got off to," I began kindly. "If you don't mind, could we ask you for a tiny little favor?"

"What is it?" Mukuro asked, tilting her head to one side in curiosity. 

"We found a closet that was sort of... Messed up," Felicity began, rubbing at the back of her head with an awkward smile. "We were wondering if perhaps you would be willing to check the area for fingerprints. I feel like the police probably missed it since nobody was checking out the area when we arrived. On top of that, nobody mentioned it, so... It seems a bit fishy."

"Where is it?" Detective Hayes questioned, glancing around nervously. "If we missed something like that, then we're going to get in a lot of trouble..."

"It's down that hallway. It's a bit out of the way, and since this building is so large, I can understand how you might miss it on accident," I replied, pointing to the direction from which we came. "We can wait until tomorrow on the results, but we think that we might need them for the trial."

"We'll take care of it!" Mukuro exclaimed, saluting us with a bright grin. "Come on, Aidan! We have investigating to do!" She wrapped her fingers around her partner's wrist and began to drag him along. While he was hesitant at first, he seemed happy to be with her once he was in a less awkward position, and a smile appeared on his face as well as they disappeared around the corner towards the hallway with the damaged closet. 

I turned back to Felicity and Sky, a smile on my own features. "It seems to me like we've finished our investigation for the day. It's time for us to head back to the agency and get some rest. We've got a lot to prove in the courtroom tomorrow, and we can't afford to slack off while we're there," I told them. 

"In that case, let's go on and call things good here," Felicity suggested. "I know that I'm going to want to rest a bit after all that... I feel less stressed now that we know where we're going with this case, but it's still going to be a handful."

I let out a small laugh. "I understand that. Now, let's get out of here." With that, I turned and started walking back towards the front of the mansion. I didn't know what the trial was going to throw at us, but I was going to face it head-on. This case wasn't going to stop me from helping out Deirdre no matter what awaited us! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear Digimon music slaps so hard
> 
> -Digital


	9. Turnabout Manor, Part 4

**April 13**

**Defendant Lobby No. 2**

**9:30 AM**

**Felicity Amaya**

The next morning, I got to the courthouse nice and early alongside Sky. I had a small smile on my face as we entered the defendant lobby, and I crossed the room over to where the couch was sitting. The trial was going to be starting soon, and I was going to be ready for it as soon as it started. I had been inside a courtroom before, but this was going to be a new experience. It was my first trial as part of the new agency, and I wasn't going to let down my employers now. I had come too far to let something like that happen, so it was going to have to be alright. People were counting on me.

"How do you think we're going to win this case?" Sky questioned once we were both sitting down on the couch. "We heard a lot from the twins yesterday, but I'm still not sure how we're going to weasel that information out of them. Even the pressure of the courtroom might not be able to get the truth out out them, as much as I hate to say it."

I frowned to myself. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. Both of them, whether they were prosecutor or detective, had experience in the courtroom, and they could very easily know how to handle our advances. This wasn't going to be easy, in other words. "I'm not sure... I hope that Lily knows what she's doing. She's been working at the agency much longer than us, so she knows more about the strategies of the agency," I finally told Sky.

"What's that about me?"

Lily walked to us shortly afterwards, a small smile on her face. "I heard my name," she began.

"We were just talking about our plans for solving this case. We were hoping that you might be able to help us figure out what to do next. After all, we might know what the secret of the Umber family is now, but that doesn't change the fact that we still need to force them to talk about it," Sky explained. "They're experienced with being in a courtroom, so they could know how to avoid spilling information when the pressure gets high. It's part of the job, so it wouldn't be too surprising."

Lily paused for a moment, trying to think of an answer. "Hm... I'm not sure what we're going to do right now, but we're going to figure something out. That much is a promise. No matter what happens, we will find an answer. After all, Deirdre is counting on us. We know for sure that she didn't commit the crime, and there are certainly traces left behind by the killer. All we have to do is find weak points as we go along. I'm sure that everything will be fine. No need to worry," she replied, giving both me and Sky a reassuring grin.

"We're going to be hearing from the detective on this case first... I think that we'll be able to poke a hole in that somehow, and once we figure that out, it should be easier to get the courtroom on our side," Sky said. "The first step is always the hardest in my opinion, and once we take it, hopefully things will get easier from there... That's what I'm praying for anyways. I would love it if this trial could pass as painlessly as possible, but who can say for sure if that will wind up being the case?"

"Good morning, you three."

I gasped upon hearing the new voice. I glanced around for a moment before my gaze settled on Deirdre, who was approaching us slowly. I could tell by how heavy her eyes looked that she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. I couldn't blame her in the slightest. I had found myself in the detention center before, and it was absolutely miserable to stay there even if it was just for one night. I was sure that Sky agreed with me on that since he had been there once as well. The detention center was not a fun place, but I suppose that was kind of the point of the matter... Still, was treating people that horribly without even a trial really necessary? I wasn't sure that it was, though I doubted that anybody would listen to my rantings on the matter.

"Are you alright?" Lily questioned, looking to Deirdre with a light frown. "You look absolutely exhausted..."

"I didn't sleep all that well last night," Deirdre replied with a small shrug. "You don't need to worry about me though. It's not a big deal. The trial is what matters right now."

"I suppose that you have a point..." Lily murmured, though I could tell that she was uneasy about how tired our coworker looked. "Speaking of, we come with some good news. I don't know if we'll be able to go into too much detail, but..."

"I would love to hear everything," Deirdre told her, painting a grin on her weary face. "If you can't tell me about it quite yet though, you don't need to worry. I'm sure that I'll hear about it soon enough when the trial starts."

I gasped suddenly. "Hey, I just realized... The rest of the agency isn't here. Are they in the gallery or something? Should we worry that they aren't here yet?" I questioned.

"I saw Yuri, Chrysalis, Victoria, and Mr. Morix on the way in here. Don't worry about them. They're heading up to the gallery already. None of them wanted to be late," Deirdre explained.

"I see..." Sky murmured. "As for what we learned... Let's just say that it probably won't constitute as solid evidence for the court. We're going to need to get a confession out of the people involved, so that could complicate things... Let's just say that we might have figured out a motive."

"That's an important place to start," Deirdre remarked with a nod. "I wonder if it will wind up being true... I haven't heard any mentions thus far of a motive for me to kill her. The police involved with the case are at a loss for ideas, and while it is convenient for us and means you will have less to prove in court... It truly is a display of how incompetent members of the force can be when it comes to their jobs."

Lily let out a small laugh. "You're not wrong there. I'm glad that we can agree on that though," she commented. She looked around the room before realizing that most of its occupants were starting to clear out. "Alright, it looks like it's about time for us to go into the courtroom. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

"Good luck. I'm counting on you," Deirdre told us. She bowed her head lightly before turning on her heel and going to walk inside.

I turned to Sky and Lily. "We can do this," I said firmly. I was trying to convince myself as well as them, as much as I hate to admit it, but I wasn't about to let myself feel down over this yet. After all, we still didn't know how the trial was going to go, and for all we knew, things could wind up being easier than we thought. I sure hoped for that.

**April 13**

**Courtroom No. 2**

**10:00 AM**

**Lily Shield**

When we got into the courtroom, I looked around to see if there was anything of note. The other side of the courtroom had the prosecution standing behind the bench. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke was at the center of the trio with Prosecutor Cruz off to the right. Prosecutor Umber was on the left side out of the three. All of them had a solemn expression on their faces, and I could tell that they meant business. It made sense given how important the victim was among the Prosecutor's Office. It had been a while since I last saw the first two members of the group look so serious, and it was somewhat unsettling, I must admit.

Both Sky and Felicity seemed a bit nervous as well. I could tell that they were trying to stay focused, and despite my speech of optimism, they were still nervous. It wasn't normal for somebody to be dragged into an important case like this as their first one after joining a new agency, so it wasn't too surprising to me that the stress was starting to get to them. There wasn't much I could do to help them out through words, so actions would have to work instead.

A gavel slammed down, and I found myself jumping slightly in surprise. I turned my attention towards the judge's podium, and I saw Judge Frost sitting there. This time, the woman of the twins was in charge of the case.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Deirdre Brigit," Judge Frost announced. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

I looked to Felicity and Sky for a moment before turning my focus back to Judge Frost. "The defense is ready," I answered confidently, hoping that my bold assertion would get the twins to feel a bit more confident in the trial.

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke didn't bother to check with how his coworkers were feeling. He continued to stare up at Judge Frost as he replied. "The prosecution is also ready," he answered simply.

"Please begin your opening statement, Chef Prosecutor Bespoke," Judge Frost instructed. She seemed to notice how serious they were, and she wasn't going to mince words.

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "The crime took place two days ago. On the night of April eleventh, the victim invited somebody over to talk. She was supposedly looking into something, but we aren't entirely sure what it was. The victim in question was one Callie Umber, an important prosecutor in the district. She had been working in the area for many years and was known for her kindness and overall strong work ethic," he began.

"She wound up speaking with someone while looking into something for the sake of her investigation. She generally kept the details of her research quiet, so we aren't entirely sure of what she was trying to learn about," Prosecutor Cruz continued. "But the night for not end as well as she would have hoped."

"She was stabbed in the chest during the encounter. The single stab wound proved to be fatal since it pierced her heart, and she was killed instantly," Chef Prosecutor Bespoke went on. "The weapon was a simple knife taken in by forensics. It's still being tested on, so we don't have it with us, but we do have a picture."

He held up a photo of the knife in question, and I couldn't help but notice that it was slanted slightly at the edge. In other words, it wasn't equally distributed as far as sharpness, instead leaning towards the top of the blade where balance was concerned. I decided to tuck the image of the knife into the back of my mind in case I wound up needing it in the future. You could never say for sure what would or wouldn't become important, after all.

"The victim's daughter encountered someone leaving the scene. This person just so happened to be Ray Scott," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke went on. "We believe that he was the one who the victim summoned the night of the crime to speak about whatever her investigation was about. That's what the witness claims as well."

"We will call the leading detective to the witness stand shortly. Is that alright with you?" Prosecutor Umber asked, speaking up for the first time since the trial began.

"Go right ahead," Judge Frost nodded. "I doubt there will be any objections to such."

"In that case, the prosecution now calls the lead detective on the case to the witness stand," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke declared. He still seemed oddly serious, and it was strange to see him so solemn given how sleepy and relaxed he regularly was. It was a peculiar case of mood whiplash, to say the least.

Detective Hayes walked up to the stand in the seconds that followed. He seemed somewhat nervous, and he swallowed dryly. I assumed that the pressure of the courtroom was starting to bother him, and I understood that completely. It could be rather overwhelming to deal with at first.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed. Once again, she was getting right down to business without a moment of hesitation.

"My name is Aidan Hayes... I'm a new detective working at the local precinct. I look into homicides, to be more specific," Detective Hayes announced.

"Please tell the court about the case's basic details," Judge Frost told him.

Detective Hayes nodded. "Alright... I'll get right down to it."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Case Details ~**

_-"The victim was killed while she was speaking to another party about an ongoing investigation she was carrying out behind the scenes."_

_-"She was stabbed a single time in the chest, and the knife was removed after she was killed."_

_-"The blood splatter was kept rather minimal, oddly enough... There's much less than you would expect."_

_-"The defendant should not have been at the scene of the crime if she wasn't the visitor the victim invited, and that's why the police think she did it."_

_-"We don't exactly have a motive for her either... It's all rather perplexing, to say the least."_

_-"I-I don't know what all of this could mean though... The point is that people believe she did it."_

"I wonder what this could all point to... It all seems odd to me, and I don't think that she did it," Sky murmured. "I'm just not sure of how to show it yet. I don't think we can use our theoretical motive card yet either, so what do we do?"

"There's something bothering me about all of this, and I'm hoping to use that for now to get us onto the next testimony," I told him. "Trust me here. I have a plan."

"Please begin your cross-examination now, defense," Judge Frost said, unknowingly interrupting my brief chat with Sky.

"I'm on it," I nodded firmly, hoping this idea of mine led somewhere good.

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Case Details ~**

_-"The victim was killed while she was speaking to another party about an ongoing investigation she was carrying out behind the scenes."_

_-"She was stabbed a single time in the chest, and the knife was removed after she was killed."_

_-"The blood splatter was kept rather minimal, oddly enough... There's much less than you would expect."_

_-"The defendant should not have been at the scene of the crime if she wasn't the visitor the victim invited, and that's why the police think she did it."_

_-"We don't exactly have a motive for her either... It's all rather perplexing, to say the least."_

_-"I-I don't know what all of this could mean though... The point is that people believe she did it."_

"Objection!"

"We would like to assert the possibility that the defendant is innocent," I announced, a small smile on my face. "We found evidence yesterday that would point to her not being the culprit, and I believe that now would be the perfect time for us to show it to the court."

"What is it then?" Prosecutor Umber asked, a frown on his face. "Why haven't we heard about this already?"

"You'll find that much out shortly," I replied. "First and foremost, we would like to point out the matter of the motive. If there is no motive for the defendant to have killed the victim, why would she sneak into the mansion in the first place to commit murder? It simply doesn't make sense. Under the idea that Mr. Scott was the visitor the victim invited over, there isn't any evidence that the defendant committed this crime."

"Do you have evidence to show that she is innocent? Physical proof is everything in court," Prosecutor Umber said sternly, his eyes narrowing in my direction. 

I nodded. "As a matter of fact, we do. Near the end of our investigation yesterday, we found a closet with a broken chair in front of it. Coincidentally enough, our client also said that she was stuck inside the closet at the time of the crime. We asked the detectives on the case to examine the area for fingerprints when the chance came around. When the defendant was arrested, she was not wearing gloves, so when she pushed on the closet door to get out, fingerprints would have been found on the inside of the door," I answered. 

"Do you have this evidence, Detective Hayes?" Prosecutor Cruz questioned, raising one eyebrow towards the witness stand. 

Detective Hayes hesitated. "We don't have the results back quite yet... There was an issue with the forensics side of things, so the team isn't finished testing as of now..." he murmured, embarrassed to have so many eyes on him. "I'm sorry about the inconvenience..."

"Excuse me!"

I smiled to myself upon hearing the familiar voice of Mukuro. I turned to face the front of the courtroom and saw her walking inside with an envelope in hand. 

"I apologize for the interruption, but I have some fingerprint results from the forensics team," she announced, taking a place next to Detective Hayes at the witness stand. "This report shows that fingerprints were found on the inside of the closet door discovered by the defense. The prints belong to the defendant. There were some glove marks found on the chair used to prop the door shut, though we are unsure as to whose hands could have made them."

"It seems that the defense's claim holds some water then," remarked Judge Frost. "How do you respond, prosecution?"

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke shrugged. "How else can we respond? It seems crystal clear to me that the truth is in the evidence. It seems the defendant has an alibi for the time of the crime after all," he commented. "But that does mean a few other issues must be discussed... If she broke into the mansion as our original case outline claims, then that wouldn't make much sense."

"If you want my opinion, I believe that she was the visitor the victim invited over. Why else would she enter the building? She doesn't have a murder motive, and she was locked in the closet at the time," I suggested. "That's what I think happened at the very least."

"I believe now would be a good time to hear testimony from our next witness," Prosecutor Umber suggested. "The defense has proposed many possibilities, but we don't know where they're going to be leading as of now. I believe that we should hear from someone who was present at the time before making any other major assumptions about what happened at the time of the crime."

Judge Frost nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Defense, do you object at all to this?" she questioned, looking over to me. 

I shook my head. "The defense has no objections," I answered. There were already a few threads that needed to be resolved at some point during this trial, and I was sure that they were going to play to my advantage. We would need to figure out who locked Deirdre in the closet, prove that she was the one who the victim invited over to investigate, show what happened to the blood splatter, and draw the motive out of the Umber twins. In doing all of that, we would hopefully be able to find out the truth behind this case that would lead us to the true culprit. 

"The prosecution would like to call the first witness to the stand," Prosecutor Cruz announced. He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the podium at the center of the courtroom. "You're up."

I didn't have to look to know exactly who I was going to be seeing. Sure enough, Detective Umber appeared at the witness stand a few seconds later, a small frown on her face. I saw her fiddling with the edge of her jacket sleeve, and I got the feeling that a lot more was on her mind than she was willing to admit. Then again, I could understand why she would be so unsettled. After all, her mother was the victim of murder. That would shake anybody up.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed with a small nod of acknowledgement towards Detective Umber. 

Detective Umber took in a breath before letting it out and speaking. "My name is Abilene Umber. I'm a homicide detective at the local precinct, but you probably know me as something else... I'm the daughter of the victim for this case," she replied. Her expression remained solemn throughout her entire introduction. 

"You saw something at the time of the crime, did you not?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned, a frown on his face as he spoke. "Please tell the court about what you witnessed around the time of the murder."

Detective Umber nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll tell you everything I know," she told him. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ What I Saw ~**

_-"I was walking around my house when I ran into someone walking away from my mother's office. I knew that she was having someone over to speak, but..."_

_-"...I wasn't sure who it was. She was keeping it pretty secret, even from me and my brother. I don't know for sure what the topic of discussion was either."_

_-"The person I ran into was a police officer named Ray Scott, as I would later learn, but I didn't know that at the time."_

_-"I went to my mom's office, figuring that her meeting was finished, but that was when I saw the body..."_

_-"The defendant was standing over her, looking down at my mother's dead body. There was blood everywhere..."_

_-"I immediately called for backup, and police arrived not long afterwards. She was arrested and taken in as the suspect."_

_-"I think that the person visiting my mother was Ray Scott, though he wasn't in uniform at the time, and I don't know where the defendant came from if that's the case."_

"Do you know what we're going to be doing now?" Sky questioned of me, a nervous expression on his face. "I don't have any ideas at the moment..."

"Right now, I'm most concerned with the matter of the blood splatter," Felicity remarked. "I don't know where it could have possibly disappeared to. Surely we would have heard something if anything was found at the crime scene that had the blood splatter on it, but we haven't seen any evidence to show that."

"But we do know one place that it couldn't have been," I pointed out. "Deirdre's clothing was clear of blood when we met her at the detention center. If she was covered in blood at the time of her arrest, it would have been mentioned by now as something lined up against her. I bet that it has something to do with Mr. Scott. That's my idea right now, at the very least."

"You'll just have to prove it then," Sky said with a small frown. "I hope that you know what you're doing here... I'm starting to get a bit worried. We have so many loose threads to wrap up, but I don't have any ideas on where we're supposed to start."

"You don't need to worry about it. I have everything under control," I told him before looking up to Judge Frost once again. "The defense is ready to begin the cross-examination."

"Go right ahead then," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke answered with a nod. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ What I Saw ~**

_-"I was walking around my house when I ran into someone walking away from my mother's office. I knew that she was having someone over to speak, but..."_

_-"...I wasn't sure who it was. She was keeping it pretty secret, even from me and my brother. I don't know for sure what the topic of discussion was either."_

_-"The person I ran into was a police officer named Ray Scott, as I would later learn, but I didn't know that at the time."_

_-"I went to my mom's office, figuring that her meeting was finished, but that was when I saw the body..."_

_-"The defendant was standing over her, looking down at my mother's dead body. There was blood everywhere..."_

_-"I immediately called for backup, and police arrived not long afterwards. She was arrested and taken in as the suspect."_

_-"I think that the person visiting my mother was Ray Scott, though he wasn't in uniform at the time, and I don't know where the defendant came from if that's the case."_

"Hold it!"

"Just what was he wearing when you ran into him?" I asked. "Please give as many details as possible."

Prosecutor Umber placed her pointer finger on her chin. "Hm... He was wearing all black, I believe. Long sleeves, long trousers... I think he had gloves on as well," she replied. "Why do you ask? Do you think it'll turn out to be important?"

I nodded. "I think that we've just found the answer to our question regarding the blood splatter. Think about it this way: the blood splatter wouldn't have been easy to see if he was wearing black clothes. On top of that, he was seen moving away from the crime scene. The witness could have made a mistake as far as smelling the blood. Since it was coming from the office as well as Mr. Scott, then she could have believed at the time that there was nothing suspicious about him," I explained. 

"You think that he's the culprit, in other words," Prosecutor Cruz remarked with a frown. "Do you have anything else that could back this idea up?"

"I believe so... This case would only make sense if the victim was stabbed from the front in the chest. The blood splatter would have had to get on something if she was stabbed from the front rather than staying at the crime scene," I began to say. 

"You mean to say that it's impossible for her to have been stabbed from being by someone using an underhanded grip," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke picked up. "The way the blade lines up with the wound on the victim's chest backs that up as well. She must have been attacked from the front, and the blood splatter would have had to blend in with something on the culprit. No traces of any other covers have been found at the scene of the crime."

"The detectives have been searching the building thoroughly since yesterday," Prosecutor Umber murmured. "I suppose that they cracked down after the issue with the closet slipped past them. If they haven't found anything despite broadening their horizons on the search of the building, then I guess that this theory is our main explanation for what happened to the blood splatter."

"It would make sense if the defendant was the one who was invited over by the victim as well," Prosecutor Cruz pointed out. "She would have already been in the building, but then the culprit could have pushed her in the closet with intentions of framing her by depriving her of an alibi. I doubt that they had any ideas that she would break out on her own, and their plan began to fall apart."

"The one thing I don't understand is what the motive would have been as far as the culprit goes. We don't have any notable connections between the victim and Mr. Scott just as we didn't have anything between the defendant and the victim," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said next. "We need to find a basis for why the culprit committed the crime, but there doesn't seem to be any solid evidence."

I looked back to the witness stand, seeing that Detective Umber had grown rather jittery. She was playing with the edge of her hair now as she stared intently at the wood of the podium. I could tell that she wasn't a fan of this conversation and that she was waiting for it to be over. 

"Detective Umber, I must ask you... Do you know of any potential motive that anyone would have had against your mother?" I questioned. "You knew her rather well since you lived together. Even if you were not aware of why she invited over the defendant, you must know something about a reason that she might be placed in danger."

Detective Umber looked up slowly, a glare forming in her eyes. She banished it quickly with a shake of her head. "I don't know anything... Even if I did, I don't know if I would be allowed to talk about it," she remarked. 

"Not allowed to talk about it?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned. His eyes narrowed, and his oddly serious demeanor took over once again. "This is a matter of life and death. We could let a killer go free or stop them in their tracks now. If you have a reason that someone would want to go after your mother, then you have to tell us about it. This could very well be the difference between finding the culprit or not."

Detective Umber hesitated. "I don't..." She swallowed nervously, glancing around the courtroom. "I really can't talk about it. Listen, maybe this is a matter of life and death as well! You can't just assume that I can tell you when I really can't afford to risk that! Nobody in this courtroom can chance being involved with this. It's dangerous, and I'm not going to drag you into this."

I was silent for a moment before speaking up. "Please... For the sake of your mother... Tell us. She would have wanted the culprit behind her death to be found. To let her spirit be laid to rest, tell us everything that you know," I insisted. 

Detective Umber was silent again, but she let out a small sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you what I can," she grumbled unhappily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really nervous about not being able to get this chapter out on time, but here it is. Neat. 
> 
> -Digital


	10. Turnabout Manor, Part 5

**April 13**

**Courtroom No. 2**

**11:30 AM**

**Lily Shield**

Detective Umber took in a deep breath before speaking. "Our mother associated with someone who got into a lot of trouble in the past. To put it simply, she knew someone important who has since gone missing. Nobody knows where they are now, and I think the culprit tried to track her down because they want information. They probably thought my mom had it, but that's not the case at all. She's just as clueless as the rest of us are, and the culprit couldn't have been more wrong in assuming that she was aware of the truth," she explained. 

"I see..." Chief Prosecutor Bespoke murmured. "Do you think that this motive could have applied to the defendant? If not, then this means that we're certainly going to have to broaden our horizons... In fact, we'll already have to do that, given that the defendant now has an alibi of being locked in the closet at the time of the murder."

Detective Umber hesitated before shaking her head. "I don't know if she would be involved with something like this... Though I'm not entirely sure as to why my mother would want to talk to her about the missing person in question. After all, the defendant wasn't involved with the legal world at the time of this disappearance, so why would she know anything?" she questioned. 

"I would like to propose a possibility," I piped in, raising one hand to get the attention of the people in the courtroom. "To be specific, I would like to explain the history of my agency. The defendant works in the same building as I do, so we have our work in common, and I believe that it would lead to the victim wanting to speak to her about the disappearance in question."

"Please continue," Judge Frost said with a light frown. 

"Our agency has been involved with many cases involving the Oracle of the Law. There is a misconception surrounding our agency that we know something about them, but our involvement in these trials is merely a coincidence. There's no solid proof that we have anything to do with the Oracle, but it's easy for people to believe that we do know because of the string of cases where we happened to encounter them," I continued. "What if the victim made this mistake as well and called the defendant to speak with her because of this?"

Judge Frost paused to consider what I had just said. "I see... You believe that the victim thought that the defendant would know something. Oracle is widely believed to have more knowledge than meets the eye, and if she believed that your agency was connected to Oracle, then she would want to ask the defendant if she knew anything on the matter," she murmured. "But if the defendant was the one invited inside, then that means that Mr. Scott likely broke into the manor to commit the crime, and that would have him as our primary suspect."

"I think it's time for us to get him to testify for the court," Prosecutor Umber announced. "If he really was involved with what happened in this way, then he has one last chance to defend himself. Are there any objections to such?"

Judge Frost looked over to me briefly, but when I didn't speak up, she shook her head. "Go on and call him to the stand. The sooner we can hear from him, the better," she announced. 

A few minutes later, Mr. Scott made his way up to the witness stand. He didn't seem all that happy to be there, and I had the feeling that he had already picked up on the notion that he wasn't here for good reasons. He might have been stingy and a bit of a grouch, but I doubted he was that foolish. 

"Please state your name and occupation from the court," Judge Frost declared, frowning down at Mr. Scott. 

"Ray Scott. I'm a police officer," Mr. Scott drawled, though his frustration was clear in his tone. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. After the way he had treated us up to this point, could you blame me for being a bit annoyed with him? 

"You were at the scene of the crime the night of the murder, yes?" Prosecutor Cruz asked, glaring at Mr. Scott intently. 

Mr. Scott nodded. "Yeah, I was. What about it?" he questioned, focusing his intense gaze on Prosecutor Cruz. "I hope that's not a problem."

"It won't be a problem if you tell us about what you were doing at the time," Prosecutor Umber piped in, stopping the potential argument that was likely to break out between Mr. Scott and Prosecutor Cruz if they were left unchecked. "Please tell the court about what happened while you were at the crime scene."

Mr. Scott hesitated before nodding. "Alright," he said. "I'll tell you what I can."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ What Happened That Night ~**

_-"I was there because I wanted to check on the victim. We had cooperated a few times thanks to cases, you see, and I was concerned after hearing about her investigation."_

_-"When I got there, something was wrong, and I could see it. After I arrived, I smelled blood, and I panicked, deciding to leave when I realized that someone had gotten hurt."_

_-"On the way out, I passed Detective Umber, who saw me but didn't engage in conversation. We both had more important things to think about at the time, so we didn't stop to talk."_

_-"I left behind the mansion soon afterwards, and I was already gone by the time the police arrived to investigate the scene of the murder. I didn't even know someone had died at the time, just that something had gone wrong."_

_-"At the time, I was out of uniform because I wasn't on shift. I didn't see a reason to wear it if I was just going to check up on an old friend."_

_-"Is there something wrong with that? Truly? I was simply showing that I was concerned about an old coworker, but that's enough to get me accused of murder? I don't understand that logic, and it seems incredibly twisted."_

After the testimony ended, I frowned to myself. There were so many segments of that testimony that simply didn't make sense. I didn't know where I was supposed to start as far as showing that he had committed this crime. There were so many blatant issues I was seeing, and pointing them all out would likely take ages. I could take this down many different paths, and all of them seemed like they would lead right back to the undeniable truth that said Mr. Scott was the one who killed the victim that night. 

"Why don't we get onto the cross-examination?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned. He was frowning to himself, and I got the feeling that he had noticed all of the other issues that I had. Pointing these out was going to be a huge headache. 

"I agree," I nodded before turning to Sky and Felicity. "Well... It seems like we're going to figure everything out pretty soon. It's seeming obvious who committed this crime, so I doubt the trial is going to draw on for much longer than it already has."

"Let's go on and take care of things. Deirdre is still counting on us, and we've come way too far to fail now," Felicity told me with a grin. "He's not going to know what hit him when we're finished."

"He made the mistake of lying to us excessively, so it's only natural that he pays for it," Sky went on with a small smile. "Now, let's go on and get started. The sooner the better."

"I agree," I said. "Mr. Scott, would you please repeat your testimony?"

Mr. Scott rolled his eyes. "If you insist, fine," he answered. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ What Happened That Night ~**

_-"I was there because I wanted to check on the victim. We had cooperated a few times thanks to cases, you see, and I was concerned after hearing about her investigation."_

_-"When I got there, something was wrong, and I could see it. After I arrived, I smelled blood, and I panicked, deciding to leave when I realized that someone had gotten hurt."_

_-"On the way out, I passed Detective Umber, who saw me but didn't engage in conversation. We both had more important things to think about at the time, so we didn't stop to talk."_

_-"I left behind the mansion soon afterwards, and I was already gone by the time the police arrived to investigate the scene of the murder. I didn't even know someone had died at the time, just that something had gone wrong."_

_-"At the time, I was out of uniform because I wasn't on shift. I didn't see a reason to wear it if I was just going to check up on an old friend."_

_-"Is there something wrong with that? Truly? I was simply showing that I was concerned about an old coworker, but that's enough to get me accused of murder? I don't understand that logic, and it seems incredibly twisted."_

"Objection!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but I found myself being cut off by another voice. I most certainly was not the one who said that. The voice that echoed throughout the courtroom was far too deep and masculine to belong to me. I glanced around to see if I could determine who the person responsible was, and I let out a gasp when I realized who it was. 

My gaze fell upon Prosecutor Umber, who was pointing at Mr. Scott with a firm glare in his eyes. He crossed his arms soon afterwards, shaking his head. "You truly are a pathetic liar," he murmured. 

Mr. Scott looked at him silently. It was clear that a thousand vulgar words were stirring in his head, but he didn't say any of them, instead choosing to just stare at the prosecutor. Mr. Scott tore his gaze away to look at the ground after a few seconds, giving Prosecutor Umber the chance to keep talking. 

"You didn't knock on the door or anything, so you were not let in. You do not have a key to our house, so you must have snuck inside. You have never cooperated on a case with my mother, because if you had, I would be aware of such, and she never mentioned your name. I know about nearly every case she has taken on, and you have never come up," Prosecutor Umber continued. 

Mr. Scott didn't respond, even when Prosecutor Umber took a break from his speech to see his reaction. Instead, Mr. Scott merely stared at the ground, unwilling to say a word that could possibly backfire after this conversation drew to a close. 

"Rather than investigating the scent of blood, you left the building behind. That alone is incredibly suspicious," Prosecutor Umber went on. "You encountered my sister, but we already pointed out the issues with that. You were out of uniform wearing all black, so if you had committed the crime, you would have easily been able to hide the blood splatter thanks to your dark clothing. My sister already told us all about this, and it doesn't make you look good, Mr. Scott. What do you have to say to that?"

Once again, Mr. Scott was silent. He was deadly still as he looked down at the ground, not wanting to show any signs of weakness to Prosecutor Umber. 

"Also, I don't appreciate the way you attempted to cover your tracks by manipulating our opinions of you. By saying that we were the bad people for accusing you of a crime, you are trying to divert our attention, and it's a very manipulative tactic. I don't think that any of us are fond of you doing something of that nature," Prosecutor Umber said next. "Now, why don't you go on and explain all of this to us? You simply made too many mistakes in this testimony, and there's no way for you to worm out of this. Make this easier on all of us and give us the full truth this time."

Mr. Scott was quiet at these words, still not willing to speak up. He slowly tilted his head upwards to focus his attention on Prosecutor Umber. "I don't know what you're on about, but you're making a huge mistake by accusing me," he snarled. His accent had disappeared, leaving him to speak in a voice that was much more familiar. "You're going to regret what you have done here today. I am not a person to be trifled with. I will find out what I want to know regardless of who tries to get in my way, and that is a promise."

"It sounds to me like you're confessing," Prosecutor Umber remarked with a shake of his head. "I can see why. There's no place for you to run to with your lies at this point, so it would be easier for all of us if you just fessed up to your crimes now. Why don't you explain just what you were doing the day of the crime? Why did you sneak into the house to kill someone that you didn't know? Were you perhaps searching for the person that went missing my sister brought up earlier? I can't think of any other reason that you would be so reckless in infiltrating another person's house and then commit murder against an innocent person."

"I think I know what you're proposing here... You believe that Mr. Scott is a killer for hire, and he committed this crime because he wished to learn more about a missing person. However, his investigation did not go as planned, and he didn't learn anything from the victim. Not wanting the truth of his mission to come out, he killed the victim and fled from the scene, claiming that he was an officer out of uniform coming to visit the victim to hopefully arouse less suspicion," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said. "I believe that the pieces are starting to come together regarding the truth of this case. As Prosecutor Umber said, it would be much easier for all of us if you went on and confessed. After all, your act is starting to slip."

"I don't even know if a confession will be necessary at this point," Felicity remarked to me. "He's falling apart, and his accent is gone. It's clear that he was playing a role all this time, and it's starting to deteriorate now that the truth has come out."

Mr. Scott didn't say anything openly, though I could hear a few vulgar murmurs leave his lips. Bailiffs descended upon him even if he hadn't yet confessed. Judge Frost hadn't given the order yet either, but it was clear that she was about to make that decision. I watched as the bailiffs handcuffed Mr. Scott and escorted him from the courtroom, not taking my eyes off him until the doors had closed and he had disappeared from view fully. 

The courtroom was quiet after the disappearance of Mr. Scott and the bailiff crew. I glanced around, hoping for someone to speak up and say something, anything, that would break the silence. In the end, I turned my attention to Judge Frost, believing that the time had come for her to end the trial. 

My prediction turned out to be correct, and she was the next person to speak. "I believe that the truth behind this case has become apparent," she remarked. Judge Frost picked up her gavel, and she looked to me, Sky, and Felicity. "Defense, do you have any objections to the trial drawing to a close here?"

I looked to Sky and Felicity. They didn't show any signs of disagreeing with the idea, so I turned my focus back to Judge Frost. "The defense has no objections," I declared firmly with a light nod. 

Judge Frost focused on the prosecution next. "What do you say about this, prosecution?" she questioned next. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke looked to Prosecutor Cruz and Prosecutor Umber. Once again, neither one of them showed any open signs of disagreement, prompting Chief Prosecutor Bespoke to look back up to Judge Frost. "The prosecution has no objections either," he replied, resting one hand on the wooden bench before him. 

Judge Frost nodded her understanding. "If that's the case, then I see no reason to draw on this trial any longer than we already have," she announced. She watched on silently as Deirdre walked up to the witness stand, twirling her gavel over in between her fingers. "This court finds the defendant, Deirdre Brigit, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" Judge Frost raised the gavel before hitting it down against the bench before her. 

A smile appeared on my face, and I started to organize the evidence sitting in front of me. I was glad that the trial had wrapped up, but there wasn't much time for me to linger. After all, I wanted to speak with Deirdre out in the lobby before we headed out, and I didn't want to waste too much time along the way. 

**April 13**

**Defendant Lobby No. 2**

**12:15 PM**

**Sky Amaya**

Once I was out in the defendant lobby, I let out a heavy sigh. I was glad that high-stress sequence of events was over, to say the least. We had been through more than enough since this case started, and I was relieved beyond imagination that the culprit had been exposed so that we could continue to go about our lives Everything was taken care of, so maybe I would be able to start working at the agency in a somewhat orthodox manner. It was certainly better than having to deal with a murder case less than two hours before starting the new job. 

Deirdre walked out into the defendant lobby, a smile on her face. She approached me, Felicity, and Lily shortly afterwards. She bowed her head to us before speaking. "Thank you for everything that you did for me today. I greatly appreciate it," she told us. 

"It's nothing," Felicity assured her with a light shrug. "No need to worry. I mean, this is what you're supposed to do for your coworkers regardless of how long you've known them. Sometimes, it's just up to you to save them from false accusations of murder since some people wouldn't know a suspect if it hit them in the face."

Deirdre let out a small laugh. "I suppose that you make a good point there," she commented. "Now, I have to ask... Is there anything else that you guys figured out about this case? I got the feeling that you were holding something back while you were in the courtroom, and I would like to know what it was."

"I would like to hear the truth as well."

I turned upon hearing the other voice, and I saw Mr. Morix standing with Yuri, Victoria, and Chrysalis nearby. It seemed that they had come down from the gallery to speak with us since the trial had drawn to a close. 

Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off when I held up a hand. "Perhaps we should go and talk about this at the agency," I piped in. "That would offer us far more privacy than the defendant lobby."

Lily nodded her agreement. "Yeah. I would prefer to talk about things in an isolated space as well," she said. "How about we go back to the agency and celebrate over drinks?" 

"Oh, yeah! I just restocked the fridge with some grape juice, so we can share that while talking," Yuri grinned. "Let's get to it! I can't wait to hear what you guys figured out. I love hearing about this stuff."

"You're the team of Morix Law Offices, correct?" 

I heard a voice behind me, and I recognized it as belonging to Prosecutor Umber. He was standing with Detective Umber, Prosecutor Cruz, and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke. I wasn't sure what they wanted, but I got the feeling I would be finding out soon enough. 

"Is there something you need?" Lily questioned, taking a step towards them. 

"I just wanted to say that you did an admirable job during the trial today," Prosecutor Umber replied simply and bluntly. "I anticipate that we will be meeting each other again soon. Until then, stay out of trouble."

With that said, Prosecutor Umber walked away, and Detective Umber chased after him. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Cruz remained with us for a while longer. 

"Great job today," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said next, taking a small step forward with a hint of a smile. "Now, I'm going to head back to the office. I have some extra business to take care of, and I don't think Polly would like it if I stuck around here any longer than I have to."

Mr. Morix nodded his understanding. "No need to worry, Ghastly. I'll see you later," he told the chief prosecutor, waving lightly as the brown-haired man walked away. 

Deirdre approached Prosecutor Cruz next. "Did you happen to get the chance to drop by my apartment?" she questioned. "I know that Kiki needed to be fed, and I usually do that, but... Well, in case you haven't already noticed, I wasn't exactly available to do such these past few days."

Prosecutor Cruz nodded. "Yeah, I got it. Moira was happy to see me stop by too. Kiki wouldn't stop honking at first, but she settled down on my lap after a while. She loves chewing on her stick toys, huh?" he remarked with a small laugh. "All of that to say that I was able to feed her. She was just as sweet as always."

Deirdre grinned. "I'm glad to hear you say that. She loves it when you stop by," she told him. I wasn't entirely sure who Kiki or Moira were, but I was getting the feeling already that Kiki was a dog or other type of animal. Moira didn't seem to fit the same archetype, but at least I knew something. Besides, I could always ask Deirdre about it after she was finished talking to Prosecutor Cruz. It would be a nice way for us to bond, and I knew we would need to given that we were going to be working together in the future. 

Prosecutor Cruz nodded in response, a small amount of pink appearing on his cheeks. "Yeah... I'll come by a bit later to see how you're doing, alright? If you need anything, all you need to do is call me," he told Deirdre. "I've got to get back to the Prosecutor's Office now, but if you need something from me, just call and say so, okay?" 

"Got it," Deirdre replied. "I'll see you around then, Vito!" 

Prosecutor Cruz walked away, his cheeks still flushed with pink. I had the sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the way she was able to refer to him by his first name without any issues, though I wasn't going to bring it up in case it was something I wasn't supposed to take note of. I didn't want to make an enemy of Deirdre so soon after saving her from murder charges, you know? 

"With all of that taken care of, I think it's time for us to head back to the agency," Chrysalis piped in, keeping everything on track despite the random distractions that appeared. "I'm getting more and more curious about what those three figured out during this case, and I would rather get the answer sooner over later."

Mr. Morix nodded his understanding. "Yes, I agree completely. We can meet back up at the agency to discuss what happened," he declared. "I'll see you all shortly." 

With all of that said, we split up, heading in different directions. Felicity followed me as we went to the car we had shared on the way to the courthouse, and then we were off. 

**April 13**

**Morix Law Offices**

**1:00 PM**

**Lily Shield**

Back at the agency, Yuri poured us all glasses of her fancy grape juice as we sat down on the couch. Chrysalis had insisted we all put lids on the cups and use straws to keep from spilling, so that was how I found myself in a law agency with a fancy straw cup drinking grape juice. This wasn't even half as weird as the strangest thing to happen in the building of Morix Law Offices though, so I didn't think much of it. 

"Alright. Let's get down to business," Mr. Morix declared. "What did you find out? Don't hold back any details."

"We know the truth about the person in question who went missing," I began. "It's the former head of Interpol, Cade Green. He disappeared after his identity was revealed... And he was once married to the victim." 

Mr. Morix gasped. "You... You mean it?" he questioned. "I never would have expected you to say something like that..." 

"And so soon after the case recently where Cade Green came up," Chrysalis murmured. "Strange. I wonder if he's going to become a running theme in our upcoming cases. It seems like everything is always connected, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest."

"The connection was hidden because Detective Umber thought that revealing the truth would put everyone in danger. After all, there are a lot of people out there who would go to drastic ends to learn more about Cade Green," Sky piped in. "I can see why she was concerned, that's for sure... I just hope that it doesn't lead to anything bad."

"Yeah. If we were going to find out the motive, she was going to have to say something. Even if she was vague, the people that are trying to find out more about him will still know precisely what she was talking about," Felicity went on. "It could be problematic in the future, but it's something that was able to help us out for now at the very least."

"I don't think we should snoop too much into it," Deirdre said next. "It's not really any of our business, so perhaps we should leave it to others. After all, there's not really any evidence out there of Cade Green being connected further with anything that we've been wrapped up in, so we should leave it be. Besides, I believe that our agency has been put in trouble more than enough in the past few years thanks to false allegations of involvement with dangerous activities."

Victoria nodded firmly. "I agree. It would be best for us to hold back unless we find out that we're absolutely needed to investigate further," she declared. "Until then, maybe we can just continue on with life as if nothing weird is going on. Plus, we have two new people at the agency, and I don't think that introducing Felicity and Sky to the pure craziness that this place tends to encompass right off the bat would be a good idea." She let out a nervous laugh after finishing this sentence. 

I couldn't help but nod myself. "You're right. We have more than enough on our plate already," I said. "Now, how about we do the introductions thing again? After all, we're all here this time, and we have this lovely grape juice. I'm sure it would be much better for us to get to know Felicity and Sky under these circumstances rather than an investigation into a murder, wouldn't you agree?" 

"Of course," Chrysalis agreed. "Let's just start from the beginning. We can deal with all of the messiness this case involved later on... Or never. I think that never would be a decent time as well."

With that, we began to talk about what was going to come next for our agency. The conversation was light and flowed easily, but I couldn't help my wondering about Cade Green. Two cases that brought him up had to be just coincidence. I prayed that things didn't get any worse from here on out, but then again, the universe hasn't ever been keen on listening to what I want. The previous two years that I had been working in the agency had made that abundantly clear, though that was probably putting it lightly. 

**April 13**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Time**

**Unknown Perspective**

Arriving back at home after everything that had happened felt somewhat empty. I sat down on the couch in the living room of the house, a light sigh leaving my lips. The past three days had been nothing short of a disaster, and I didn't know how I was going to be dealing with them in the future. After all, things were never going to be the same again. 

If this had done anything good (and note that I am making that 'if' huge here), it was that my resolve had only grown stronger for what I had to do. I knew exactly what was coming next, and nothing was going to get in the way of it. That much I was positive of. 

I was sure that the others felt the same. After all, everything was falling apart, and if we left life alone for too much longer, things would only deteriorate further. I looked up at the ceiling, trying not to think of what was going to come next. 

Looking back was no longer an option. It was press on or else, and I wasn't willing to see what the other option was. If the world was going to be nasty to me, I would return the favor, all in the name of making things better for someone who didn't realize the danger they were in. I wasn't going to let things get any worse than they already had, and I refused to break that promise to myself. 

**TURNABOUT MANOR**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're starting one of my favorite cases next week I can't wait
> 
> -Digital


	11. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 1

_"Alright... Just go in already."_

"Ack-! What are you doing in here?! Get out already! Go on!"

_"Just calm down for a moment..."_

"You're trying to ruin our show, aren't you?! Monstrous little punk! I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I'm not going to let you get away with it!"

_"I told you to be quiet! Quit screaming already!"_

"Everybody is going to know exactly what you're doing. Just give it a few minutes, and your life will be ruined. I have a lot more power than pathetic souls like you are willing to believe."

_"Stop this already! Get out of my damn way!"_

"What are you--"

_"...Well, it seems that plans are going to have to change... It's not convenient, but what crimes like this ever are...? I can manage it..."_

**May 16**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**6:45 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

It was a warm night in May that I found myself walking into the Grand Hall Theater. I couldn't keep the gentle smile off my face. Tonight was certainly going to be enjoyable, and it was nice to take a step away from work for a few hours. 

Chrysalis was performing in a show here in the theater, and she invited the rest of us to come and see it. Somehow, it didn't come as a surprise to me that she was a performer behind the rest of her business. After all, how could it shock me when I was fully aware of what she did outside of the theater? Being Oracle had certainly given her the time to refine her abilities as far as acting was concerned, and it was only right that she had the chance to show that off every once in a while. 

I was with Yuri and Mr. Morix as I walked inside of the building. Lily wound up having other business at the last minute, though she vowed to come and see it on another night. Victoria had already made plans with her boyfriend for a date night, and she didn't want to back out at the last second. As for Felicity and Sky, they were busy doing other things that night as well, though I wasn't sure as to what they were. I hadn't been given the chance to ask, and I wasn't going to force it out of them if it wasn't that important. 

"This is going to be fun," Yuri grinned. "I'm sure that Chrysalis is going to do great." She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "We've got about fifteen minutes until the show starts, so we should go and find our seats."

I nodded my agreement. We passed through the lobby of the theater and into the main area. There were a lot of people, and it was a trying task to navigate through the crowd without bumping into anyone. Due to the large number of people, I found myself clinging to Mr. Morix's hand. He was incredibly tall, allowing him to tower over most of the others in the lobby. I couldn't get lost if I was with him. Yuri held tight to my other arm as he led us through the clusters of people and into the theater. 

The first thing I noticed was the stage. It was huge, to put it simply, and the red curtains were shut to keep it from view. I let out a small sigh of awe. "Wow... It seems that the venue is one meant for these large performances," I whispered. I detached myself from Mr. Morix, though Yuri wound up staying close to me even after I unhooked myself from my boss. She was rather small, after all, and I bet she was still nervous about somehow getting lost in the crowd. 

Mr. Morix was able to lead us to our seats without any issues, and I was surprised by how great they were. He had mentioned that Chrysalis was able to get us a great set of seats since she knew we would be coming. There were three other seats available on the other side of Mr. Morix, and I glanced to them once we were all sitting down fully. "Who do those seats belong to?" I questioned. 

"Sora, Ghastly, and Niamh are coming along tonight," Mr. Morix replied. "Originally, Polly, Anton, and Elec were going to see it tonight too, but they wound up having other business to take care of. I'm sure Chrysalis will be able to get them tickets for one of the other few nights that the show is running. After all, she was able to get us these seats, and they're fantastic."

"I'm excited to see what it's about," Yuri remarked, looking up to the stage with a smile on her face. She tilted her head to the side after placing her cheek in her palm. "I haven't heard anything about it. Chrysalis is pretty good at keeping secrets when she wants to."

I bit back a comment on how she was much better than any of us were likely aware of. After all, it came with the territory since she was a spy on the side. However, I didn't want anyone to overhear us, so I trusted that the other two had come to the same conclusion even without me having to say it out loud. 

"The show is a tragedy, to say the least," Mr. Morix began. "The leading part is being played by a girl named Saya Kan. She's... A bit of a unique character. That's probably putting it lightly, but... She's far from being like the character she plays on the stage. She may be kind during the performance, but I've heard from Chrysalis that she has a bit of an ego that can get to her at the worst times."

"What about Chrysalis herself?" I questioned. "I hope that she's not playing any villainous characters during this production."

Mr. Morix shook his head. "Nope. She's instead playing a mysterious sidebar characters... Isn't that a perfect fit?" he remarked with a small laugh. He didn't finish the joke, but I understood it perfectly without him needing to specify. 

Before he could continue, the overhead lights grew dimmer, and I gasped. It appeared that the show was starting. I saw Prosecutor Lin, Prosecutor Wood, and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke dash into their seats just as darkness set in over the theater. They didn't get the chance to say anything on the matter, but I didn't think they needed to say anything. Prosecutor Lin's apologetic gaze told me everything I really needed to know about their tardiness. 

I turned my attention towards the stage. The curtains slowly chugged open, and I was surprised to be met with an empty stage. I watched it intently, waiting for something to change. 

Then it did. 

A platform was slowly lowered down from above, and I realized it was a part of the stage. However, something seemed to be off about it, and I soon realized what it was. My hands flew to my mouth, and my eyes went wide. 

There was a person stationed upright, tied to a vertical pole jutting out from the platform. I could see blood all over their clothes, and it was centered on their chest. They weren't moving, and I wasn't sure if this was part of the show. 

"Is this how it's supposed to start...?" Yuri questioned, her eyes wide in panic as she looked over to Mr. Morix. He didn't offer a response, but judging by how pale his face had gotten, this was far from being part of the typical show-starting routine. 

A person walked out from the side of the stage, and I recognized the person in question as Chrysalis. The long honey blonde hair was an easy giveaway. She was wearing a fancy pink dress that reached her ankles, and she looked perfect for the stage. 

Well, if not for the blood that was splattered across her chest. 

There was red all over the front area of her chest, and chatters began to rise up from the crowd. She looked down, seeing the stains on her dress, and her hands clapped over her mouth as fear appeared on her face. My hands tightened into fists, and I couldn't help but stare, unsure of what else I was supposed to do on the matter. 

Screams rose up from the crowd as the realization set in that the person who was propped up on the pole was dead. Now that the platform was lowering further, I could see a wound on the person's chest, and I realized that it was likely a stabbing injury. Given where it was positioned, it seemed that there was no way the person in question could have survived the hit. 

The room seemed to be covered in a blanket of chaos, and all I could do was stare at the stage. What else could I do? There was no sign of anything else that could take my attention, and I didn't know how else I was meant to respond to the idea of a murder taking place. 

**May 16**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**8:00 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

About an hour had passed since the discovery of the body. Most people in the crowd had been told to leave the theater, so I was in the lobby alongside Mr. Morix and Yuri. The trio of prosecutors had broken off to see what was going on nearly as soon as the body had been discovered, so I didn't know where they were anymore. Instead, I stared at the ground, trying not to think of all the ways this could go wrong from here. 

I already had a sneaking suspicion that the murder suspect was going to wind up being Chrysalis. After all, she had been seen walking onto the stage covered in blood. That was pretty damn incriminating, and I wasn't sure if there was a way for her to worm out of it. The entire audience saw her, and that was a bit of a big deal, to put it lightly. 

"I wonder what's going to happen from here," Yuri remarked, looking up to me. She was speaking up for the first time in nearly fifteen minutes. It was chilling to see her so quiet, but I knew it was because she was distracted with everything else that was going on. It was hard to focus on being bubbly or upholding a conversation when there were a thousand other things running through your head. 

"I feel like we already know who's going to wind up as the suspect," I told her quietly, praying that Mr. Morix didn't overhear me. He was stressed enough as it was, and I didn't want to add to his panic. Granted, I was sure that he was already fully aware of what I had said. He simply hadn't wanted to speak about it in case that made his worst fears come to fruition. 

However, he didn't say anything when I spoke up. Instead, he looked down at the ground, his eyes somewhat glossy in his moment of unfocused thought. I already knew what he was thinking about, and I wished that I could do something to make it better, but there wasn't some miraculous button for me to push that would fix this problem. Hell, nothing would really fix what happened aside from Chrysalis not being arrested, though the chances of that happening were slim, assuming they existed in the first place. There was one inevitable future, and no matter how much he tried to avoid speaking of it, the fact remained that it was still there. 

The doors to the theater opened, and I looked up. There were a few people walking out of the main audience area, and I recognized them rather quickly. First and foremost, Prosecutor Lin, Prosecutor Wood, and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke were together. It seemed that they had finished up their preliminary investigation. Beside them were the Umber twins. Both of them had serious expressions on their face. I have to admit that I didn't expect to see them, but I suspected that they had been called upon to come and see what had happened when people began to report a crime taking place. 

"Everyone is free to go home for the time being unless they have extra information about the crime that took place," came the strong voice of Chief Prosecutor Bespoke. I could tell based on how ragged and worn down he sounded that he was not fond of what had happened. "We have a suspect in custody, and our investigation will continue through tomorrow to learn more about the case."

He hadn't mentioned who the suspect was, but I already had a sinking feeling that my suspicions were about to be confirmed. I swallowed dryly with a brief glance over to my coworkers. Mr. Morix had snapped out of his trance, and I got the feeling he was planning on heading over to where the quintet of investigators were standing to ask for more details. 

Sure enough, that was what he did after the crowds began to stream out. The chatter in the room was noisy, and I had to resist the urge to clap my hands over my ears to try and block it out. It only took a few minutes for everyone to leave, though the prosecutors and detective remained positioned by the doors into the theater to keep anyone from trying to sneak inside and get a look at the crime scene. If anyone did try, they backed off upon seeing the guards of the room, and soon enough, only Mr. Morix, Yuri, and I were left with a few particularly curious bystanders. 

Mr. Morix crossed the room quickly to approach Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, a stern expression on his face. "I want to know who you arrested," he said firmly. I got the feeling he was clinging to any potential hope that this wasn't going to lead to an announcement that Chrysalis was responsible. Maybe with familiar faces on the case, we had gotten lucky. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke hesitated, and I already knew the news he had for us was far from favorable. "I wasn't exactly the one to carry out the arrest... You'll want to speak with Prosecutor Umber if you want more information," he said, cringing when he saw the fear that appeared in Mr. Morix's eyes at this revelation. "I'm sorry."

Those two words said everything that we could have wanted to know, but just to reiterate it all, Prosecutor Umber approached us with his sister close in tow. "The suspect is one Chrysalis Starr," Prosecutor Umber told us. "She was seen walking onto the stage covered in blood. We are still looking for evidence that this blood belongs to the victim, but things are not looking good for her right now."

I bit my lip upon hearing those words. I had known this would be the case from the second Chrysalis stepped onto the stage, but that didn't make hearing the truth any easier. Tonight wasn't going as well as we had hoped, and that was putting it lightly. 

Detective Umber doubled back into the theater, and when she came out a few seconds later, she was holding onto the shoulder of someone much shorter than her. It didn't take me long to recognize this person as Chrysalis. Her hands were in cuffs behind her, and she was staring down at the ground blankly. Her expression was unreadable, though I suppose that's just par for the course for Chrysalis at this point. 

"Chrysalis..." Mr. Morix whispered. He turned his attention to Detective Umber next. "You don't need to worry about finding someone to defend her. We'll do it."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind for when we get to the detention center," Detective Umber told him. She gently nudged Chrysalis forwards. "Come on. We have to go."

Chrysalis gave us one glance as she left, and I could tell that there was a lot she wanted to say but was holding back on. A few moments later, she disappeared from view as she left behind the building entirely. A sigh left my lips, and I knew this case was going to be far from dealing with. 

"I'm going to head with my sister. I trust the rest of you to take care of things here before the investigation stops for now," Prosecutor Umber said, looking to his three coworkers. When he received nods, he walked away, disappearing in the same direction as Detective Umber and Chrysalis. 

Once he was gone, Mr. Morix turned to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, a hurt expression appearing on his face. "You didn't have her arrested, right? I would expect you to know her much better than that," he whispered. Somehow, his quiet was more threatening than him yelling ever could have been. It sent a shiver up my spine even though I knew he was far from the violent type. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke shook his head. "I wasn't even part of the investigation. The workers for this case are going to be Sora, Niamh, and Prosecutor Umber," he answered. "Prosecutor Umber and his sister were the ones to decide that she was suspicious. If you want to get angry at anyone, might I suggest them?"

"The evidence most certainly isn't in our favor though..." Prosecutor Lin murmured. "I want Chrysalis to be freed of suspicion just as much as the rest of you do. You can trust me when I say that. But... She came onto the stage covered in blood, and that's a pretty important piece of evidence. I bet someone framed her."

"Did you notice how quiet she was?" Yuri questioned. "There had to be something going on there..."

I frowned to Yuri. "What do you mean? Chrysalis is far from being the most talkative person unless she's around people she knows well, and I somehow doubt that the Umber twins constitute as part of that inner circle," I pointed out. 

"I know, but there was something odd about what was happening there... She seemed so distant, like she couldn't get her focus together," Yuri pointed out. "Even as she was being arrested, she seemed so... Unfocused. For someone who is able to keep a laser-perfect sense of concentration most of the time, it's weird."

Prosecutor Lin pondered her words. "Come to think of it, you have a point there... I mean, Chrysalis has always been the type to focus on everything that happens in detail. It's hard to get anything past her, but she didn't seem to be paying attention at all to what was happening as she was being led away. There had to be something else on her mind," she agreed. 

"Maybe it was just the shock of being arrested for murder," Prosecutor Wood suggested. "I mean, that would catch anyone off-guard... I-I think. Maybe that's not so right after all... I don't know her as well as the rest of you do, so... Never mind. Just ignore my opinion."

"That's a possibility," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told her with a light yet reassuring smile. "You don't need to worry too much, Niamh. We're going to figure this out, and I'm sure that you're going to be a huge help in learning the truth behind this case. You're a good prosecutor, and since you want to find the truth just as much as everyone else here, I trust you to put your all into this investigation."

Prosecutor Wood flushed immediately upon receiving such attention, and she looked down, rocking back and forth on her feet. "C-Come on... You're embarrassing me..." she whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from the floor. 

"Are we going to be able to look around at the crime scene tonight?" Mr. Morix questioned, trying to see if there were people inside the theater itself. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke shook his head. "It's getting late, so we're taking a break and picking it up tomorrow. It wouldn't do us any good to investigate all night when the trial won't even be held tomorrow. We've got an entire extra day to prepare for when this case gets taken to court. Isn't that extremely helpful?" he questioned, his voice dry and sarcastic. 

A sigh left my lips, and I shook my head. "I wish we were able to help more, but I don't think we'll be able to do much to aid Chrysalis tonight if we can't even investigate... Is there anything we should know about the case before we split up for the night?" I questioned. 

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes... We have a murder method figured out. It was a stab wound to the chest. Judging by its location, death was instantaneous," she began. "On top of that, fingerprints were detected on the handle of the knife that was used to kill the victim. We don't know who the prints belong to quite yet, but there is one odd thing about it all..."

"And what would that be?" Yuri questioned, tilting her head to one side in curiosity. 

"There was no blood on the knife handle," Prosecutor Wood piped up. "With how much blood there was, it seemed obvious that there was going to be some sort of stain on the handle, but... There's nothing there."

Mr. Morix frowned at that statement. "I agree, that is incredibly odd... Even from the audience, it was easy to see that there was blood nearly everywhere on the victim's body. To have nothing appear on the knife used to kill her would be rather strange, and that's likely putting it a bit simply," he murmured. "Is there anything else that struck you as odd during the initial investigation?"

Prosecutor Lin paused to think for a moment before shrugging and shaking her head. "The forensics team is going to keep looking around even if the rest of us are heading home for the night. They're hoping to find the actual crime scene. It's got to be somewhere in this theater, but we aren't sure exactly where it was. The body had to have been moved onto the stage platform that it was lowered from," she began. "There wasn't any blood splatter found on the floor of the platform, and that's weird for reasons we already mentioned. There should have been more blood, but the area around the corpse was oddly spotless, so that points to the idea that something else is going on here."

"We'll certainly have to look into that more when we come back tomorrow," I concluded. "We're going to do everything we can in order to free Chrysalis. She doesn't deserve to suffer in the detention center for something she didn't do. She would never kill anyone, and those who think so are far from knowing her well."

"I agree," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said. "We're going to keep looking around tomorrow... Well, these two are. I have too much paperwork to take care of at the office to investigate, though believe me when I say that I would much rather be here trying to figure out what's going on."

"I understand," Mr. Morix assured him with a gentle yet weary smile. "We're going to find the truth, so you don't need to worry. As soon as we figure out what really happened, you'll know about it. Try not to stress yourself out too much over it, okay?"

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "Thanks for that, Cotoli... Now, let's all go home and get some sleep. We've all got a big day ahead of us, and it wouldn't do for us to tire ourselves out when the investigation is waiting," he declared. 

With that said, our little group dispersed. I couldn't help but think about who could have done this and why. There had to be a reason behind this killing, a reason to frame Chrysalis, but that was still undiscovered. If nobody else was going to dig it up, then the job would fall to me, and I was happy to try and figure out the truth. 

**May 17**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**8:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

The next morning, I walked into the Grand Hall Theater with a light exhale. After a night of fitful sleep, I was ready to take on this investigation. I had spent so much of the night worrying about what would happen if this went wrong, and it appeared that I was far from being the only one. 

Mr. Morix was the first one of us three to arrive at the theater, and judging by how heavy his eyes appeared, he had barely slept the night before. I wasn't particularly surprised given his history when it came to worrying about Chrysalis, but it was still upsetting to see him this way. Since he was so close with his youngest sister, he tended to go into overprotective mode when he suspected that she was in danger. It had happened with the Interpol kidnapping, it had happened with the promise of a traitor in the agency, and it was happening again now. 

"Are you alright, Mr. Morix?" I questioned, walking closer to him. I was trying not to startle him given that he barely seemed to be holding onto his sense of self under the heavy burden of his exhaustion. 

Mr. Morix nearly jumped three feet in the air out of pure shock at seeing me. It seemed my attempts to not scare him wound up not helping much. Maybe I was simply destined to frighten people no matter what. "Oh, Deirdre!" Mr. Morix exclaimed. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Just didn't sleep all that much last night."

Yuri came dashing up to us shortly afterwards, breathing heavily. "Sorry I'm late! I wound up getting stuck in traffic," she declared, leaning over to place her palms on her knees as she continued to pant wildly. 

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to worry about it, Yuri. We understand," I assured her. "Now, we should go on and head inside. The investigation is awaiting us."

"Before you got here, I went inside and started asking some questions," Mr. Morix told us. "I have a small list of witnesses for us to talk to about all of this. There's nobody from the audience for us to speak with, but there are three people part of the theatrical production itself that supposedly know something that could be crucial to figuring this case out."

"Who are they?" Yuri questioning, finally managing to catch her breath. Once she was breathing normally, she rose to her full height and looked up at Mr. Morix in curiosity. 

"The first is Satoki Amaya. He's an actor who said that he saw something odd backstage. Next up is Shane Carmen, who is in the same boat as Satoki," Mr. Morix explained. "Last but not least is one Stayge Crewe. He's part of the backstage group that helps to change sets and the like. All three of them said that they witnessed something odd over the course of the preparation period leading up to the curtains falling."

"It seems that we've got a lot on our plate as far as speaking to witnesses is concerned," I remarked, frowning to myself. This investigation was already seeming like it was going to take a lot longer than I would have expected. 

"I do have one other thing though," Mr. Morix said. He reached into a bag that was hanging over his shoulder and pulled out an envelope. In my exhaustion, I hadn't even realized the bag was there. Maybe I was more tired than I thought. 

"Is that what I think it is?" Yuri asked, a smile appearing on her face. She reached out and grabbed the envelope from Mr. Morix before opening it. 

"It is. That's the autopsy report," Mr. Morix replied with a nod. "Go on and open it. We can check it out together."

At his direction, Yuri opened the autopsy report. I moved to read it from over her shoulder, but Yuri decided to read it out loud so that I didn't have to. "The victim is one Saya Kan. She's nineteen years old and was stabbed once in the chest. Death was instant," Yuri began. "The time of death was about 6:00 last night."

"Saya Kan... Didn't you say that was the lead of this show?" I questioned of Mr. Morix. 

He nodded in response. "I did, as a matter of fact... I don't know what the police think the motive is yet, but I get the feeling that it will have something to do with her attitude. I've talked to Chrysalis quite a bit about this show, and she has told me on multiple occasions that Saya was not a pleasant person to work with. She had an ego that got in the way of her work all the time, and it was hard for people to associate with her given how pretentious she could be. This doesn't mean that she deserved to die, but... I feel as if the police involved with this case will twist Chrysalis' distaste for Saya around into a motive for murder," Mr. Morix told us. 

I sighed and shook my head. "Oh, my... I suppose we'll just have to ask the people inside what they know about it. Perhaps we can speak to the witnesses about everything as well. They were involved with the show from behind the scenes as well, so I'm sure that they are fully aware of the attitude of the victim as well," I pointed out. 

"We've got a lot on our plates, so perhaps we should go on and get started," Yuri suggested. She started walking towards the door, and Mr. Morix followed after her. I traced their footsteps a few seconds later. I had a bad feeling about this case already, though I wasn't quite sure of how to describe it. I just hoped that this didn't wind up being as large of a disaster as I was starting to fear it would be... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really excited for this case. This was one of my favorites from the original draft of this series, and I'm already loving it. The rewritten version has changed a lot compared to the original, but I still think it captures the spirit of the first version and then goes above and beyond. 
> 
> Can you tell I'm hyped? 
> 
> -Digital


	12. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 2

**May 17**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**8:15 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

When we walked into the theater building, the first thing I noticed was the large number of officers buzzing around the area. I tried to catch a trace of someone or something familiar, but my attempts all seemed to be in vain. I let out a small sigh and looked up to Deirdre and Mr. Morix as I crossed my arms. "So... What are we supposed to do now?" I questioned. 

"We should try and find the witnesses," Mr. Morix suggested. "They must have something important to tell us. I doubt that they would know nothing about this case given how the backstage area is bound to contain some sort of clue..."

I nodded my understanding, and I followed Mr. Morix through the crowd with Deirdre at my side. We eventually reached an area at the back of the lobby that had a lounge of sorts in it. There were a few chairs set out that circled a table, and there were two young men standing near the lounge. 

The first one had caramel colored hair that was cut close to his face in a slightly spiky manner. He wore a basic white button-up shirt with a green tie and black dress pants with matching dark shoes. His eyes were a bright green color, and he was fiddling nervously with his hands as he rocked back and forth between his toes and heels. 

The second boy had dark skin and thick hair that was tied into a ponytail at the top of his head. He wore a red shirt with yellow flame designs along the hem. His trousers were black but had the same fiery pattern at the bottom. He wore bright orange shoes, and he had white gloves on. He was staring blankly at the floor in front of himself. 

"Excuse me?" Mr. Morix questioned, getting both of the boys to turn their attention to us. "We were wondering if you would be willing to talk to us about the case."

The first boy smiled brightly in response. "Ah, I understand... You must be Chrysalis' brother," he commented. "My name is Satoki Amaya, and this is Shane Carmen. It's nice to meet you all."

"Amaya?" I echoed, tilting my head to the side. "Would you happen to be related to Felicity and Sky Amaya? They're twins who happen to work at our law agency."

Satoki paused for a moment before speaking once again. "Perhaps we're distant relatives. Those names do ring somewhat familiar, but I haven't ever met anyone using those titles," he answered with a shrug. 

"I'm sure that you want to hear more about the case, right?" Shane questioned, looking up at us with a relaxed smile. I could see stress hidden in his eyes no matter how deep he tried to bury it. 

"We would love to hear anything that you have to see about the crime," Deirdre affirmed with a light grin of her own. "No detail is too small or insignificant for us."

"Alright," Satoki nodded. "Well, first off... You should know that we didn't see Chrysalis or Saya for quite some time before the show. I don't know what it could mean, but... They both went missing a little over an hour before the show started."

"We were looking for Chrysalis to speak with her about the show since one of the props had gone missing at the time, but she was nowhere to be found," Shane continued. 

"What prop is it that went missing?" Mr. Morix questioned. "We can try and find it while we're looking around."

"A fake knife," Satoki replied. "It disappeared around the same time that the girls went missing, but we don't know where it went off to. Saya and Chrysalis both turned up eventually, but... The knife is still a mystery to us both, I'm afraid."

"That's strange," I whispered. "I guess that we'll just have to start looking around when we head into the actual theater... But there's one thing I don't get. If Chrysalis and Saya really went missing before the show, then how come nobody canceled or postponed the show for them? It would certainly be strange if two important members of the cast just went missing so soon before the curtain was set to rise."

"There were others backstage who were convinced that everything was alright with them," Shane answered. "I don't know who saw them, but even if we were worried, everyone else seemed to think that things were fine. When we asked, nobody was able to point us in the right direction, which is also strange, but... I don't know who was saying to the rest of the cast that things were okay. We still haven't found the source of those rumors."

"I suppose that's another thing we're going to have to ask around about... I'm sure that there was someone who was saying all of that, and perhaps it could lead us to the culprit. After all, if the person who was spreading that rumor was doing it because they were trying to convince the cast that the disappeared people were fine, then it was likely to cover their tracks," Mr. Morix pointed out. "We'll have to try and find out more when we start looking around more."

"What were you doing up until the show started? You must have an alibi, right?" Deirdre questioned. "We would love to hear about it, and if there's anyone else suspicious that comes to mind, share everything you know about them."

"We were spending most of our time together," Satoki answered. "We were trying to find Chrysalis and Saya since nobody else seemed freaked out by the idea that we couldn't find them. In other words, we were together the whole time leading up to the show, and I'm sure that everyone else who saw us can confirm that without a shadow of a doubt."

"There's nothing else really odd that comes to mind about the people who were there... But there is one thing that happened a few days ago that is rather strange," Shane remarked. 

"What is it?" I asked, leaning forward in my anticipation. If something happened a few days ago, then perhaps this crime was premeditated or something along those lines. 

"One of the people who was meant to be on the crew stopped showing up to rehearsals," Shane told us. "There are two people who were meant to help manage things backstage along with other members of the cast. The first one is Hannah Blocker, and the second is Stayge Crewe. Hannah stopped showing up to rehearsals with Stayge saying that something had come up at the last minute to keep her from taking part in the show. Stayge has always been a bit distant and quiet, but he's been more closed-off from the rest of us ever since Hannah stopped coming to practice."

"Why would she cancel so soon to the start of the show?" Mr. Morix questioned. "You've all been working hard for ages, and pulling out when the performances are about to start seems like an odd thing to do."

"If there's an explanation for it, then we don't know," Satoki said with a shrug. "Stayge didn't seem to know about it. It's not like he was ever particularly close with any of us. He tends to keep his distance and focus on doing his job above all else. Hannah disappearing must have done something to mess with his head, because he's been quieter than usual. It's not like he talked much before, but when he goes from saying fifty words per rehearsal to nearly none, it's a pretty sudden jump."

"I think we're going to have to keep this in mind," Mr. Morix murmured. "Something must have happened to make Hannah pull out of the show at the last minute. On top of that, we need to factor in the missing prop knife and the person who started the rumors that everything was alright despite the disappearances of two members of the show."

"Thank you for telling us about all of this, you two," I smiled. "We're going to do what we can in order to find out more about this case and eventually have the real culprit dragged into the light."

"Thanks," Satoki grinned. "We both appreciate that. Shane and I know fully well that Chrysalis wouldn't ever do something like kill another human. She's pretty quiet around most of the cast, but she still isn't the type to turn to murder. Her relationship with Saya was never very strong, but... It's not in her nature."

"What was Saya like?" I questioned. "We haven't heard all that much about her from somebody inside the show. Mr. Morix mentioned a few things, but I feel like it would be much more useful for us to hear the full story from someone who's around her all the time."

Both Satoki and Shane fell silent at my words. They looked at each other in hesitation, unsure of what they were supposed to say in response to my prompt. Eventually, Shane let out a sigh and began to speak. "Saya... She had a bit of an ego... I feel awful for saying something like that about her so soon after her death, but I get the feeling that you're going to need to hear everything that we know if you're going to find the truth behind what happened," Shane explained. 

"If I had to guess, I would say that the proposed motive behind the crime has something to do with Saya's temper," Mr. Morix murmured. "I heard from my sister on multiple occasions that she and Saya didn't exactly get along. Saya tended to get snappy with her over nothing, so Chrysalis came back from rehearsals every once in a while fired up about what had happened."

"That sounds about right," Satoki agreed. "I already told you that Chrysalis is rather shy, but I bet you already knew that. She tends to keep to herself, and Shane and I are probably the only ones who go out of our way to speak with her during rehearsal. Since she's so quiet, she doesn't openly praise Saya often, and... Saya didn't like that. She had an ego that was far too large to be healthy, and if people didn't sing her praises, then she could get snappy with them."

"Hm..." Deirdre frowned to herself. "It sounds as if Chrysalis and Saya surely didn't get along... However, I doubt that this issue of having an ego was enough for her to go to murder as a solution. Granted, that's hardly a solution at all, and it's out of character for her on top of that."

"It's what the people involved with the case seem to think the truth is," Shane went on. "I never said that they were right about it though. You can ask the detective and blonde prosecutor about it. They're the two who seem to be pushing for it, but the others involved with the case seem to think that there's something else going on with the person who killed Saya."

"Sounds like the Umber twins to me," I told the others. "Perhaps we should go and find them. They might be able to give us more details about this supposed motive, and I get the feeling that we're seriously going to need to hear them if we want to find the truth."

"Thanks again for talking to us," Mr. Morix told the two boys. "We're going to keep looking around for more clues, but if you find anything, all you need to do is come to tell us about it. We'd be happy to listen to anything that you have to say."

"No problem," Satoki smiled. "We'll be here if you wind up having any other questions. Until then, good luck in your investigation."

We walked away from Satoki and Shane, approaching the doors to the main theater area silently. Deirdre and Mr. Morix didn't seem to want to talk about what we had just learned, so I didn't say anything about it either. Instead, I followed them to the theater itself, and I walked inside as Deirdre pushed the door open for us all. 

The theater was just as impressive as it had been the night before when all of this hadn't yet been dragged into the limelight. Now, it was nearly entirely empty, and the curtains on the stage were pulled back to show the platform where the body had been lowered from. 

"Cotoli!"

I turned upon hearing the familiar voice of Prosecutor Lin. She was standing nearby with Prosecutor Wood and Prosecutor Umber. A smile was on her face, but it appeared rather weary, so I suspected that she hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before either. 

"Sora!" Mr. Morix exclaimed. "I'm glad to see that you're here... Do you have any details for us? We're trying to get us much exploring done as we possibly can before the trial tomorrow. I've been so antsy about the outcome."

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "We did find out something, as a matter of fact... Niamh, why don't you go on and explain the new fact we heard?" she questioned, nudging her adopted daughter lightly with her elbow. 

Prosecutor Wood immediately took on the appearance of a deer in the headlights upon being addressed, but she eventually nodded once she was able to get her shock under control. "Yes... Sure," she eventually said. "We found out that there are no blood traces on the knife handle used in the crime. The blade itself is covered in blood, but the handle is completely clear of it. There weren't even signs of blood having been washed off."

I nodded to myself at her words. "Hm... That's something to keep in mind," I whispered. "Is there anything else that we should know about?"

Prosecutor Lin looked to Prosecutor Umber, but when he didn't say anything, she decided to take it upon herself to offer the other chunk of details. "We figured out where the actual scene of the crime is," she announced. 

My eyes shot open, and I prayed that I didn't look too bug-like in my surprise. "Seriously?!" I cried out. Come to think of it, there wasn't all that much blood with the body when the platform was lowered from above the stage, so it only made sense that she was killed elsewhere. 

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "There are two sets of restrooms near the theater in this place. One set is attached to the dressing room for the actors, and another set is in the lobby near the entrance. All others are a bit out of the way and hard to access," she explained. "The second set was closed-off from the audience for this performance, but we aren't quite sure why that is. However, there is proof to suggest that the crime took place in the girls' restroom from that second set of bathrooms. Luminol testing showed that large amounts of blood had been smeared and wiped up by paper towels in the restroom, and we found the towels in question in the nearby trashcan just to prove it further."

"So, the victim was killed in the bathroom that was closed off from the audience... I wonder why she was there. I mean, like you said, there was another set of restrooms attached to the dressing rooms, and if someone had walked in on her, then there could have been issues. After all, the performers aren't meant to be seen before the show starts," Mr. Morix remarked. "I don't know why she died there, but I get the feeling we're going to wind up figuring it out sooner or later."

"Wait, I just realized something... If she died in the bathroom, then there was a chance for someone to stumble upon the knife should it have been left there. You seem to already have it, so I need to ask... Where was the knife found?" I questioned. 

"It was next to the body on the stage platform. I doubt it could have been seen well from the audience, but it was most certainly there," Prosecutor Umber replied. "We already talked about the problems that the knife brought up when it was found. There was no blood on the handle even though there really should have been. This issue is only made clearer thanks to the large amount of blood that was wiped up at the scene of the crime. There shouldn't have been so little blood that it didn't even reach the handle."

"I see..." Deirdre murmured. "One more question before we start to look around for ourselves. What do you believe the motive of the defendant is? I doubt that you would arrest her simply because she was covered in blood. Anyone could have been framed in that way, and you would expect the culprit to wipe that off before the performance began."

Prosecutor Umber frowned for a moment before speaking up. "Ah, that... Well, the victim and defendant didn't exactly get along. They argued from time to time, though it never got too loud. The point is that they didn't like each other, and given that others were already aware that they fought, it wouldn't be too surprising if something like that escalated into violence," he told her. 

"Just as Shane and Satoki thought then," Mr. Morix said softly. "Alright. Thank you for telling us all of this. We're going to start looking around for ourselves now. If there's anything else you need from us, all you need to do is say so. I'll speak with you again soon."

Prosecutor Umber was the first to walk away, and Prosecutor Lin shrugged as he left, unable to explain his hostile behavior. She followed after him a few seconds later with Prosecutor Wood a short distance behind her. That left me, Deirdre, and Mr. Morix alone in the theater's audience area. 

"We should start off by going to see if we can check out the bathroom. Even if it was closed off from the audience the night of the show, I doubt that it will still be kept empty given the investigation is still going on," I suggested. "Plus, we're going to need to find this Stayge Crewe person, and the missing prop knife could be pretty useful to our case as well."

"Prosecutor Umber has to be around here somewhere, so perhaps we could ask her about what she's figured out regarding this case too," Mr. Morix pointed out. "We'll likely see her sooner or later because her job is to patrol this place, but until then, let's start looking around."

"Let's head to the bathroom first," Deirdre said. She gestured for us to follow her, and we walked out of the theater and out into the lobby once again. Satoki and Shane were still standing in the same area that they had been before, but they didn't say much of anything to us. Satoki gave us a brief wave while Shane shot us a wary smile before they let us continue with our investigation. 

The bathrooms were easy to find once we had gotten past the two boys. The signs for them were clear, and I noticed a set of ropes that blocked it off from the rest of the lobby. Sure enough, they were kept away from the people who could have come to see the show. The ropes had been tucked into the stands that were keeping them in place though, so we were easily able to shuffle past them and head into the restroom. 

"I imagine that the crime took place in the girls' room," I told them, approaching the door. I pushed it open with my shoulder and gestured for them to go in ahead of me. After they had passed through, I walked inside myself. 

There was a familiar face inside there, much to my surprise. Detective Umber was standing in the main area of the restroom, looking down at a picture that she had in one of her hands. There were five stalls in the restroom, all of which had shut doors, likely for the sake of the investigation. The main area appeared to be the most notable one though, as that was where Detective Umber was located. 

When we got closer, I realized that the stall at the far edge of the row was unlocked, and the door had simply shut on itself. This stall was much larger than the rest of the rooms in the set, and I couldn't help but wonder if there was something special about it that set it apart from the rest of the group. 

"Detective Umber," Mr. Morix began, easily capturing the attention of the detective and prompting her to turn around and face us. 

Detective Umber gasped upon noticing us and plastered a smile on her face. I could feel how fake it was without having to give her a second glance, and it made me cringe inwardly. "Hey! I was wondering when you would come by to look around again," she remarked. "This is the crime scene, though I bet that you already heard about that from my brother and the others on the prosecution team."

"We did, as a matter of fact," I confirmed. "What's that picture you're looking at?" I pointed to the flimsy piece of paper that she was clutching so tightly. 

Detective Umber hesitated before handing it over to me. I was confused at first until I realized that the picture was of the bathroom itself. There was an odd filter over it, and I recognized the blue smears that could be seen near the floor area as bloodstains. The largest stall was included in the picture, and I frowned to myself. "I see..." I whispered. "This is a picture of the Luminol test reaction. This is proof that the crime took place here."

Detective Umber nodded and gestured to the nearby trashcan. "If you look in there, you'll be able to see that there are a lot of paper towels that were used to clean up all the blood after the victim was killed," she commented. "On top of that, there's one other thing... Look down here at the bottom of the picture."

I followed her instructions, and I felt the gazes of Mr. Morix and Deirdre looking down at it from over my shoulders. I wasn't sure what I was looking at in the beginning, but I realized that there was an odd streak of blood near the edge of the picture. "What in the world could that be...?" I whispered, unsure of if I was talking to myself or the other people who were in the room with me. 

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Detective Umber admitted with a small shrug. "We aren't quite sure where that came from, but... We do know for sure that the smear down there did not come from the paper towels. The pattern of the streak is different than the rest of the circular motions used to wipe up the blood. It's as if something else was used to clean up the red liquid down there, but we still aren't sure what it could be. You might have more luck in figuring it out than the rest of us, given that we still have no idea what's going on there."

"Thank you for this," Mr. Morix told her with a light smile. "We appreciate this. Is there anything else that we should know about this case before you move on? I imagine that you have quite a bit to take care of after you finish speaking with us."

Detective Umber paused for a moment, pressing her pointer finger of her right hand to her chin. "That's a pretty good question, actually... I'm not quite sure, as a matter of fact. I'm sure that you've already heard about the missing knife prop. We're still trying to track it down, but that's much easier said than done. The backstage area is a nightmare for those who don't know their way around this venue, and it's not like any of our detectives have had the ability to look around here before. It's unfortunate, but what else can we do about it?"

"I see... We'll do what we can to look for the missing prop," I told her firmly. "Is there anything else on your mind? I have to say, Detective Umber... You seem somewhat distracted. It's like you're not focusing your full attention to solving this case."

If Detective Umber was unsettled by my observation, she sure as hell didn't show it, instead biting her lip and staring down at the ground. "Hm... Not really. It's a lot of stuff that doesn't really matter here, and I don't want to drag you into it," she commented. I could tell that she was lying, but she clearly didn't want to talk about it, as she shrugged her shoulders loosely before walking to the door. "Try not to mess anything up in here, alright? This is important to the investigation, and it wouldn't do if any of the evidence was tampered with. Just because I have other things to manage doesn't meant that you can run wild in here."

Detective Umber left the room behind a few seconds later, and I waited for the door to tap shut before I turned to the others in my group. "She's definitely hiding something, but I don't know if it's related to the case at all," I commented. "I suppose that we should focus on the rest of the investigation for now, and if we wind up needing to press her for more information further down the line, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it."

Deirdre nodded her agreement. "Alright... Hey, Yuri, can I see that picture again?" she questioned, extending one hand towards my fingers where I was clutching at the photo. 

"Huh? Oh, sure," I answered, pressing the picture into her hands. I wasn't sure what she wanted to look at. Maybe she was trying to figure out where the blood smear from the bottom of the photo had come from. 

Deirdre let out a gasp after a few seconds of staring at the picture. "Alright... I think I might have figured out where this streak came from," she told us. "I want you to remember last night. Chrysalis walked on the stage, and there was blood all over her costume. Tell me... Did that pattern look natural at all?"

Mr. Morix shook his head. "Not in the slightest... It wasn't a splatter like you would expect the culprit to have from a stabbing. Instead, it was a smear of sorts... Ah!" he gasped. 

Deirdre nodded. "I see that you've caught on... I think that this smear of blood from the bottom of the picture comes from Chrysalis. The culprit must have pushed her through the blood at some point and gotten it all over her. I don't know when that could have happened though... It seems we have one more thing to ask her about when we go to visit her at the detention center later," she commented. 

"I bet that the detectives are keeping her clothing as evidence or something similar," I pointed out. "I wonder if Detective Umber is working with anyone else. If so, maybe they'll be more receptive to talking to us. After all, we just don't know Detective Umber well enough to get her to tell us if something is on her mind."

"That's another thing for us to look for," Mr. Morix murmured. "I think we should head backstage for now. Maybe we can find Stayge Crewe and that prop knife. I feel as if both of them will be incredibly important to the case that we're about to construct."

I nodded my agreement. "I think you're right. I hope that we have more luck in figuring out where the knife is though... The detectives simply don't seem to be able to find out where it disappeared to, and we're really going to need to track it down soon," I said. "For now, let's go on and check out the backstage area."

With all of that said, we moved towards the door of the bathroom, and I pulled it open to let them head out first before trailing behind them. Once we were back into the hallway, we walked through the familiar route that took us back to the lobby and then to the theater. 

The theater hall itself, I noticed, had a staircase leading up to the stage off to the side. It was regularly hidden by the curtain, but since the red velvet had been moved back for the sake of the investigation, we were easily able to head up to the stage. 

The platform where Saya's body had been found was sitting on the stage, and I swallowed nervously at the blood splatter, as minimal as it was, before turning towards the wings of the stage. The others seemed happy to ignore the area just like I was, so we went off the stage and into the backstage area that awaited us nearby. 

The backstage area was a lot brighter than I expected, though I suspected it was far less light when a show was going on. I glanced around, surprised at how crowded the space was, before I heard a shuffling sound from nearby. A gasp left my lips, and judging by the stressed looks that appeared on the faces of Mr. Morix and Deirdre, they had heard it as well. 

I searched for the source of the noise before my gaze fell upon the culprit behind the light noise from before. A figure was hiding in the shadows, and I took a cautious step closer. I wasn't sure who it was, but I knew that we were going to be hearing everything we needed to about them soon enough... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this case so much wow I hope you guys wind up loving it too aaaaa
> 
> -Digital


	13. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 3

**May 17**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**9:30 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

When we got closer to the person, they turned to face the wall. With a quick motion, they flicked on the backstage light switch, prompting yellow illumination to flood my vision. I cringed at the sudden change of scenery and held up my hands to block out the brightness at least a little bit. As much as it caught me by surprise, it did offer one noticeable positive, and that was that I could see the person that had been hiding backstage with much more clarity now. 

It was a young man, I noticed, with a black hat that was pulled close over his eyes, leaving the upper half of his face in shadow. He wore all black as well, and a hoodie was thrown over his figure. The jacket barely fit him and seemed to be trying to fall off his slender frame, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought that the sweater was trying to swallow him whole. 

"Who might you be?" Mr. Morix questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. 

The young man cleared his throat before speaking up. "Stayge Crewe," he told us. He didn't bother to say anything else, and even as we watched him in anticipation of further words, he remained stubbornly silent. 

I nodded after a brief period of awkward quiet. "I see... We are the defense team for Chrysalis. We're trying to learn more about this case. I'm Deirdre Brigit, and this is Yuri Rinko and Cotoli Morix," I explained. "Would you be willing to tell us more about the case?"

Mr. Crewe nodded, and once again, I was left waiting for him to say something, anything, else, but he stayed quiet just as he had before. 

Yuri let out a sigh before breaking the veil of silence that had fallen on us. "So... What happened the night of the crime for you?" she questioned. 

"Not much," Mr. Crewe said simply with a shrug. "I was trying to work on the show from behind the scenes, and that's it."

"That's why you're wearing all black, isn't it?" Mr. Morix questioned, gesturing to his outfit. "In order to keep from being seen on the stage, you wear dark clothing. That way, the audience won't be able to pick you apart from the scenery."

Mr. Crewe nodded once more. "You're smart," he said curtly. He didn't continue after that, and I was starting to get the feeling that if we wanted to get anything helpful out of him, we would have to drag it out. That wasn't exactly ideal, but what choice did we have? He was already proving himself to be far from conversational when it came to small talk. It was just as Satoki and Shane had told us before. 

"Hm... Do you know anything about a missing prop?" Yuri inquired, tilting her head to one side. "It should be a knife. We heard that it went missing the night of the murder."

Mr. Crewe pointed over to a table off to the right of where we were standing. There was a lamp sitting on top of it, though the light was flicked off at that moment. On top of the stand was an open script, likely for the play, and a fake knife. 

I gasped and walked over to it. I reached out to pick it up before deciding that might not be a great idea. After all, who could say for sure if that was the best plan? If the knife had evidence on it, such as traces of fingerprints, it wouldn't do if I wiped them off by accident. 

"Where did you find this?" Mr. Morix asked. "We were under the impression that it had gone missing."

Mr. Crewe shrugged. "Someone just put it there. I guess somebody took it and then put it back when they were finished with whatever they had to do. I don't know what's so special about it though. The knife isn't real," he remarked. 

Sure enough, he was right. The way the light overhead gleamed off the fake blade told me that it was likely plastic rather than actual metal. It was painted well enough to look realistic from an audience's perspective, but when you looked a bit closer, it became increasingly clear that the knife lacked any special qualities that would make it an actual weapon. 

"Who uses the knife in the play?" Yuri asked next, walking closer to Mr. Crewe after she was done looking at the knife. "Maybe they were the one to pick it up."

"Chrysalis," Mr. Crewe answered bluntly. "She's the only one who needs it."

I cringed at the thought. If Chrysalis was the only one who used the knife, then it could be somehow manipulated to be used against her. Maybe the culprit wanted it to be used as some sort of evidence...

Mr. Morix frowned and reached out towards the knife's blade. He picked up the plastic carefully before yanking an empty plastic bag from his pocket. He dropped the knife into the bag before sealing it and taking it for himself. I didn't know why he was doing something like that, but I got the sneaking suspicion that I would be hearing more information on the matter soon enough. 

"What do you know about the murder itself?" I inquired next. So far, we hadn't been able to get Mr. Crewe to speak about the actual crime, but I was going to change that. 

Mr. Crewe paused before shrugging once more. "Not much. Chrysalis and Saya hated each other," he told us. "Maybe it was jealousy."

Mr. Morix glared at him for a moment at the idea before burying his emotions on the matter and letting out a sigh. "Did you happen to see anything the night of the crime? Anything at all?" he questioned. 

"No." The word came out easily and bluntly. I got the feeling that there was more to it than that, but Mr. Crewe wasn't exactly intent on talking, and unless we had solid proof that he knew something, then we probably weren't going to be hearing much more than that. 

Yuri suddenly let out a gasp and snapped her fingers. "Hey, I have a question... We heard from Satoki and Shane that there was supposed to be one other person working backstage with you during the show. I think her name was Hannah Blocker. She supposedly had to cancel, and she told you to tell everyone else about that," she told him. "Would you happen to know anything about her? Most of the other people involved with the show seem clueless on the matter, but if you communicated with her directly, then you have to be aware of something from that night."

Mr. Crewe was quiet at first. "I don't know anything," he said simply. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to get going. The police said they wanted to see me around this time, and I don't want to keep them waiting."

Mr. Crewe walked away after that, and I frowned. Sure enough, he was a person of few words, and I got the feeling it would take a lot of persuasion to get him to open up. Still, he was at least speaking to us, so that was more than Satoki or Shane could say. However, Mr. Crewe seemed to be saying more to us, complete strangers, than to actual members of the cast that he was actively acquainted with. That had to be rather odd behavior, especially during a murder investigation. Nobody I knew would act that way. 

"I think we should take this knife to the detective team," Mr. Morix suggested with a frown. "I don't know where Detective Umber is... Maybe there's someone else around here that we could talk to."

"Mr. Morix?"

I turned around upon hearing the voice of Detective Erikson. A smile appeared on my face. "It's good to see you, Detective Erikson," I declared. "How are you doing?"

Detective Erikson approached us with a light grin of his own. "I'm doing well. I had a sneaking suspicion you all would be on the case. It only makes sense given who the defendant is... How are you all coping with that, by the way? I doubt it's easy to deal with," he began. 

"We're going to be fine," Mr. Morix told him, though it didn't take a genius to see that he was lying. "Is there anything you can tell us about the case?"

"You should go down to the detention center when you get the chance to," Detective Erikson suggested. "Your sister is out of questioning as far as I'm aware, and she's not doing all that well, I must admit... When I was talking to her earlier, she said that she had an awful headache. I suspect that it's because she didn't sleep much last night, but seeing you all there would certainly brighten her spirits."

"We'll head down to the detention center as soon as we're finished up here," Mr. Morix said firmly with a nod. 

"What's that in your hand?" Detective Erikson questioned, gesturing to the knife in the plastic bag.

"Oh, right," Mr. Morix murmured, holding up the bag for him to see. "We found the prop knife that went missing at the time of the crime. According to one Stayge Crewe, it was returned to that stand over there at some point when he wasn't there. He doesn't know who could have taken it, but he said that Chrysalis is the main person who touches it during the show."

"I understand," Detective Erikson muttered. "Let me guess. You want me to take a look at the knife, don't you?"

"That would be great," Yuri beamed. "Seriously. If it went missing and then just miraculously showed up again after the crime, there has to be something weird going on with it. Of course, we would check it out ourselves, but it's not like we have a forensics team at our disposal." 

Detective Erikson chuckled and gladly accepted the bag from Mr. Morix. "Of course I'll look at it. If the tests come back today, then I'll be sure to send you a call to say what the forensics team finds," he told us. "I bet that you're dying to hear the results already."

"You have no idea," Mr. Morix admitted with a light yet clearly falsified chuckle. "Is there anything else that you think we should know about?"

Detective Erikson paused before shaking his head. "No, not really... Ah, wait! Did you hear about the real crime scene?" he questioned. 

I nodded. "We did, as a matter of fact. The crime was set in the girls' bathroom. The restroom set should have been accessible to the audience, but it was blocked off by a set of ropes for unknown reasons," I explained. 

"Yeah, you get it... We've spoken with the director of the show to see if he understood it. However, the director wasn't here the night of the crime. He was out of town taking care of other business and just came in this morning. In his absence, Stayge Crewe was meant to handle business like that," Detective Erikson told us. 

I frowned at the mention of Mr. Crewe. "Mr. Crewe was supposed to handle things of that nature...? That's rather odd... And yet, when we spoke to him just a moment ago, he didn't mention anything about shutting the bathrooms off from the audience. I wonder what could have motivated an action like that," I commented. 

"If he had discovered the scene of the crime, then that would be rather problematic on a few levels," Yuri piped up. "I mean, he's a guy, so why would he go into the girls' restroom? Plus, if he had found the body, he wouldn't want the show to go on. He would have called for backup to have someone examine the body. You can't exactly have a performance if the leader of the show was found stabbed to death in the bathroom. That seems like a pretty obvious issue with that potential series of events."

"I agree," I nodded. "Perhaps there was something that required examination within the restrooms. It might not have even been an issue with the girls' room in particular. If a stall was out of order in the mens' room, then he could have had it cordoned off for that reason."

"But if a stall wasn't working, then why not just put a sign on that specific stall door to say that it was out of order? That would prevent long lines at the other sets of restrooms, something that's normally an issue when it comes to big performances like this," Mr. Morix pointed out. "If there was something wrong with the other room, then the cast should have been told about it too. That way, they would know for sure not to stray too far from the beaten path if they wanted to go somewhere outside of the dressing rooms."

"What I'm hearing here is that we need to figure out the reason that the restrooms were shut off. It seems to be a very important fact behind this case," Yuri concluded. "I'm not sure how we're supposed to figure something like that out, but it wouldn't hurt to have that information in our arsenal for the trial tomorrow."

"I'll leave you to ask around that if you wish to," Detective Erikson told us. "I want to go and get this knife tested as soon as possible. The forensics team won't be able to get results until I turn in this prop for them to check out."

"Thank you for taking it off our hands," Mr. Morix said with a smile. Once again, it was clearly forced, but nobody called him on it. "Will we be seeing you at the trial tomorrow?"

Detective Erikson shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not... You see, Detective Umber will be testifying, and instead, my job will be to look over the crime scene. It's best if one of us can stay here to keep the other updated on any new developments that take place," he told us. "I hope that you're able to learn more about the case in my absence though. I'd be happy to hear about anything new you learn after the trial draws to a close tomorrow."

"We'll tell you if things change," Mr. Morix assured him. "We'll see you later, Detective Erikson."

We waved as the detective walked away from the backstage area, the prop knife in his hand. He disappeared from view a few seconds later, and I turned to face the other two once he was gone. "What should we do next?" I questioned. 

"We should talk to Chrysalis," Mr. Morix suggested. "She might be able to fill in a few of the holes in the case for us, and if what Detective Erikson said is true, then she hasn't been doing well since she departed from the theater last night. I would hate for her to be forced to suffer alone at the detention center for any longer than she has to."

"I hope she'll have something to tell us... The evidence so far is looking pretty incriminating," Yuri frowned. "I mean, we know for sure that she wouldn't do this, but not everyone else is as aware of that fact. We're going to have to really kick it into overdrive if we want to prove that she's innocent when this case goes to court."

"In other words, talking to her about what she knows is the best next step for us," I agreed with a nod. "Even if she doesn't have anything new to tell us, that could still be seen as helpful in the long term."

"What do you mean?" Yuri questioned, tilting her head to the side gently. 

"If she can't tell us anything about the crime, then that means there's a reason that she doesn't know anything. She was seen covered in blood, and if she doesn't remember how that happened, then we can conclusively say that there was some extra meddling done," I explained. "Of course, we won't know that until after we go to see her, so we should go on and take care of that."

Mr. Morix nodded and led us away from the backstage area. A few seconds later, we were back on the main stage, and I looked over to the platform where the body had once been. Now, there was only tape outlining the place that the victim's corpse had been the night before. I assumed that there was nothing suspicious enough about it to merit leaving it there for any longer. 

I shook off my thoughts about the victim's body and started walking away from the theater as a whole. We had more important things to concentrate in that moment, and I didn't want to get distracted now. 

**May 17**

**Detention Center**

**10:45 AM**

**Cotoli Morix**

When we arrived at the detention center, Chrysalis was already waiting for us on the other side of the glass. She didn't seem to notice that we had arrived at first. Her cheek was pressed into her palm, and her other hand was being used to rub gently at the side of her temple. 

"Chrysalis?" Yuri questioned, prompting her to look up at us. 

Chrysalis took a moment to recognize us at first, and then relief washed across her features. "Hey," she said simply. "It's good to see you."

There was something oddly distant about her today, and it bothered me. I took a few steps closer to the glass. "Hey... Are you alright?" I questioned. "You look somewhat sickly."

Chrysalis shrugged. "I've been feeling awful ever since I got here, to be perfectly honest... I guess that's par for the course when you're being suspected for murder, but... Oh, you know what I mean," she told us, letting out a sigh. "I guess that you're here to ask me about the case... Go on. Ask away."

Deirdre and Yuri pulled up their own chairs while I took over the one that was already sitting in front of the window into the other side of the room. "What do you know about the crime?" I questioned, starting things off without any further formalities. 

Chrysalis hesitated before sighing once again. "To be honest, not much... Everything about last night is fuzzy. It's like I only remember half of it. When I first got to the theater, I started working to set up for the show like everyone else. Saya went missing during the preparations phase, and everyone was worried. I started to look around for her, and then I went to the restroom. After all, if she wasn't backstage, then perhaps she was elsewhere in the building."

"Let me guess... You went to the bathroom set that was cordoned off," Yuri piped in, frowning to herself as she spoke. 

Chrysalis nodded. "Yeah, you got it. When I arrived, it was oddly empty, and it bothered me, to be honest. However, I shrugged that off and started looking for Saya. I... I don't remember anything after that. I walked into the restroom, and the rest of the night is a blur," she continued. 

"That's rather strange..." Deirdre frowned. "I wonder what could have happened to make you feel as if you didn't know what was happening. Perhaps there was someone who knocked you unconscious or otherwise messed with your head to trigger such a response."

Chrysalis shrugged. "I don't know... The next time I was actually aware of what was happening, it was just before the start of the show. I was sitting on a chair backstage, and my head was pounding. I've had a wicked headache ever since then, and I feel like my skull is being pulled apart," she told us. 

"You mean that you had the headache before you arrived here at the detention center?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Detective Erikson mentioned that you were feeling sickly before, but he suspected that it was because you didn't sleep well last night. After all, not getting enough rest can cause physical symptoms to show up..."

Chrysalis shook her head. "I mean, that didn't help, but... My head has been hurting since before I was arrested. I felt fine when I first arrived at the theater, but ever since I woke up backstage just before the show, I've felt awful. It's like my body is turning against me... It's a wicked feeling," she went on. 

"What I'm hearing here is that something odd is going on here," Deirdre murmured. She looked down for a moment before concentrating her attention back on Chrysalis. "First of all, we heard that there was a knife prop backstage that you're meant to use during the show. It went missing around the time of the murder only to surface again later on. Did you happen to move the knife at all? Stayge Crewe mentioned that you were the only one to use it during the performance, so he suspected that you did something with it."

"Oh, the knife... No, I didn't touch it. In fact, I noticed that it was missing too. I said that I was looking for Saya, but I was also trying to find the knife. I didn't have any luck though. Whoever turned the knife back in must have done so after my memory went out, because I don't know what happened," Chrysalis replied with a shrug. "Everything that happened at the time of the crime is so hazy in my mind. In fact, I don't even remember seeing the body in the first place."

"What happened when you walked out onto the stage?" Yuri inquired. "We saw that you were covered in blood back then... Hey, you aren't wearing that costume anymore. What happened to it?"

I hadn't noticed it before, but Yuri was right. The bloodstained dress that Chrysalis had worn the night before was no longer present. Instead, she had on a simple t-shirt with baggy sweatpants. Her hair was still in the bun that she had worn the night of the show, meaning that she looked rather mismatched when viewed fully. 

"I don't remember what happened for quite some time, but... I did wake up backstage shortly before the show was set to kick off. I was sitting on a chair in the backstage area, and Stayge was shaking me. He said that I had to head off onto the stage. I wasn't really thinking. If I had been, I would have known to go on and do that myself... Anyways, I walked out onto the stage, and that was when Saya was being lowered. The backstage area was dark enough that I didn't see the blood on my dress, and judging by the fact that nobody seemed to call me out on it, the others didn't notice it either," Chrysalis explained. 

"What about the smell?" Deirdre questioned. "Surely you must have noticed the smell of blood while you were walking out onto the stage."

Chrysalis shook her head. "No, I didn't... I told you earlier that my head was hurting, right? Well, I was so focused on the pounding in my head and getting out onto the stage without causing problems for others that I didn't fully register it until I was outside and everyone could see me. That's not a good thing, I know, but... That's what happened," she told her. "I wish that I could offer you more information, but... That's about all I know, I'm afraid."

"What about something that's not related to the discovery of the body?" Yuri asked. "I want to know... Hannah Blocker. She was part of the crew, right? Do you know her at all?"

Chrysalis hesitated before nodding. "Unfortunately, I do... Hannah Blocker is a girl who I went to school with. We were in the same grade, and she hated me for a while. I suppose that she hated me for ignoring her most of the time. She loved having all the attention on herself, and I wasn't going to give her what she wanted, so she got bitter and spiteful when I was around," she went on. "I was surprised to see that Hannah was going to be part of this show as a backstage member. She didn't seem to want to be around. She was bitter and rude the whole time."

"And then she quit a few days before the show started," Deirdre commented. "That's rather peculiar... I wonder what could have made her back away when the production was so close to hitting the stage."

"I wish I could tell you, honestly. I don't know what she was thinking either, but she got out of there as soon as the show was about to start serious dress rehearsals. It left Stayge scrambling to try and figure things out without her. He was in a really bad position when she had to duck out," Chrysalis said. 

"It sounds like something must have made her drop out... It must have been serious if she backed away so close to the show. Even if she hated being there, you would expect her to have some form of obligation to the production when it was so close to finally being put on for an audience," Yuri pointed out. 

"I wish I had more answers for you, but... It's all really weird. Hannah must have done something about it, but... Ugh, I don't know what to say anymore. It's all so weird... Plus, Stayge has been quieter than usual. I mean, he didn't really talk to any of us on a regular basis before all of this, but he's gone from saying a handful of words to not speaking at all, and you notice a change that drastic, even when he was nearly silent before all of this," Chrysalis frowned. 

"You're not the only one to point out his shift, as a matter of fact," I told her. "We spoke with Satoki Amaya and Shane Carmen. They said that Stayge was acting rather strangely as well, though they didn't have any ideas on why it was. I suppose that you're in the same boat."

"I am," Chrysalis nodded. "It's odd, but... I don't know if we're going to be able to get answers out of him. After all, when I asked what was wrong, he just clammed up and told me that it was nothing for me to worry about. Everyone else is getting worried too, but we can't force him to talk about it."

"What I'm hearing here is that there were a lot of odd things going on around the time of the murder, whether it be by a few days or a few hours," Yuri murmured. "I'm starting to wonder if this crime was pending for a while. I mean, odd things were happening for a few days before the body was discovering, and I don't know if we should just brush all of that off as coincidence when it could very easily be something far more serious."

"I can't say for sure... But I do know that whoever did this was most certainly malicious," Chrysalis said sternly. "After all, the knife that was used to kill the victim was brought in from elsewhere. The culprit was planning to commit a crime for at least a day before the body was discovered. The venue wouldn't have any weapons like that."

"In other words, this was premeditated," I whispered. "I don't know what to make of that, but I feel as if it's going to be a rather important fact. Is there anything else you think we should know?"

Chrysalis nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes... I believe that whoever committed the crime went out of their way to frame me specifically. Why else would I be the one covered in blood? This crime was not only premeditated in the way that the victim was going to die, but... They were planning on pinning it on me as well. There's far too much to suggest an elaborate setup here," she went on. 

"I believe the best step for us to take next would be to figure out who would have a motive to commit a crime like this. We've heard already from multiple sources that the victim was not the easiest person to get along with, but that doesn't mean that she was destined for death from the start," Yuri remarked. 

"I don't know who would have hated her that much either... I mean, Saya and I didn't get along, but I was probably the one she hated most out of the cast members. Nobody else called her out as much as I did, and I doubt that someone would randomly decide to kill her in a premeditated murder when they never had any bad blood with her before," Chrysalis said. 

"We've got a lot of thinking to do about this," Deirdre concluded. "We should probably get going. We do have to think about what's next, even if we're likely finished with this investigation, and you deserve to rest a bit more after all of this if your headache is really as bad as you're making it sound."

"Thanks," Chrysalis sighed. "I do want to lay down... I feel dizzy. It's been like this ever since the crime took place, and I wish I knew why it was the case."

"Thank you for talking to us, Chrysalis," I told her. "We're going to find a way to get you out of here. That much I can promise. Until then, keep hanging on. We're here for you if you need anything, and we'll do what we can during the trial tomorrow."

Chrysalis gave me a warm yet forced smile. "Thanks, Cotoli... Be careful to not find trouble yourself, okay? It wouldn't do if this case was interrupted by something else, after all," she said. "I'll see you all tomorrow for the trial."

Chrysalis was escorted away not long afterwards, and I sighed as she left. I didn't know what we were going to have to do during the trial, but I already had a bad feeling about this case. The idea of the premeditated murder was starting to bother me, and I prayed that we found an explanation as soon as possible. Chrysalis was counting on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that I was able to post this update after a lot of sleeping and procrastination woo
> 
> -Digital


	14. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 4

**May 18**

**Defendant Lobby No. 3**

**9:25 AM**

**Cotoli Morix**

Much to my surprise, I was not the first person from the defense team to arrive at the courthouse. Deirdre and Yuri were already there by the time that I walked through the doors to the defendant lobby, and I regarded them with a degree of shock. "I didn't expect to see you two here so soon," I admitted. 

"We were worried," Yuri told me, rising from her seat on the couch. "I guess I was really bothered by what Chrysalis had to say yesterday about the case... This murder was definitely premeditated, but we don't have any ideas as to why that was the case. There are a lot of strange things going on."

"I want to know what happened to get the body moved from the bathrooms to the stage," Deirdre frowned. "The bloodstains wiped up on the bathroom floor are more than proof of where the crime took place, but that doesn't explain how the body was moved all that distance without anybody noticing. It's a problem that I feel we need to find a solution to as soon as possible."

I nodded. "You're both right... I'm hoping that we'll be able to unravel everything sooner rather than later," I told them firmly. I felt a vibration in my pocket, prompting me to look down and pull my phone free of its place snugly between two pieces of fabric. "Detective Erikson just texted me..."

"What did he say?" Yuri questioned eagerly, standing up on her toes to get a better view at my phone. Our height difference seemed clear as day in that moment, though I didn't have much time to acknowledge it. After all, there was limited time before the trial, and if this was about what I suspected it was, then we didn't have a moment to waste. 

I gasped as I read the text to myself. I paraphrased it once I was finished for the sake of the other two. "He got the knife tested by the forensics team. The knife prop we found definitely had something odd about it... The handle was able to detach from the knife itself."

"A removable handle?" Deirdre echoed with a small frown. "That's not the sort of feature I would expect to see on a prop knife like that... Then again, I suppose that if the glue grew unstable, it would be easy to tear apart if you used enough force..."

I nodded. "Yeah. The handle was definitely not removed by normal methods. It would make no sense for the handle to come off naturally... So that means somebody intentionally pulled it off, but that's not all," I told her. "The knife handle... It tested positive for having blood on it. In fact, there was blood all over the handle on the knife."

Yuri let out a gasp. "That... That's definitely important!" she cried out. "If you ask me, that's going to be the perfect way for us to start to unravel the case the prosecution has set up for us. I mean, if we can show that the knife handle was removed, then..."

"Then we can use it to our advantage, yes," Deirdre agreed, finishing the sentence for her. "But that does beg the question... Why was the knife handle covered in blood in the first place? I mean, the blade itself doesn't sound as if it was bloodied at all, so that's rather odd..."

"The fake blade on the knife was covered in Chrysalis' fingerprints," I told the two girls. "That does make sense given that she's supposed to use it in the show, but... You would really expect the prints to be on the handle, and yet, it doesn't sound as if there were any on that area of the knife."

"If you ask me, we're going to have to figure this out as soon as possible. It has to fit into the puzzle somewhere. We simply need to slide the pieces into place," Deirdre said conclusively. She looked to the ground with a light frown. "I'm not sure where this is going to lead us, but we had better figure it out soon... The trial is going to be starting soon, and it might be best if we went in with our ducks in a row."

"Morning, everyone..."

I heard a groggy voice coming from behind me, and I turned to see Chrysalis walking towards us. She was rubbing at her eyes, and she barely seemed to be keeping herself upright. The sight made me cringe, and I couldn't help but frown as I walked over towards her. I did my best to keep from outwardly freaking out, but it was quite a chore. "Are you alright?" I asked. 

Even if I prompted the question, I really didn't need to. Just one glance at her told me that she was far from feeling fine. Her hair, which had been tied in a tight bun since the show, had fallen out and was now in a loose braid she had likely tied herself. Somehow, Chrysalis looked even more exhausted than before, and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles. She couldn't stop yawning, and her posture was far from being as strong as it usually was. She seemed hunched in over herself, as if she was scared something might happen if she dared to straighten herself out. 

"I didn't sleep well," Chrysalis eventually told us, her words slurring together in her exhaustion. She yawned again and covered her mouth again. "My head is still pounding, and I can't for the life of me figure out why..."

"I'm starting to get worried about that... I mean, I've worked with you for a long time, and it's not like you've ever had a history of migraines. Why would you suddenly get a pounding headache that lasts more than a day and a half out of the blue like this?" Yuri questioned. 

"This didn't happen the last time I was arrested," Chrysalis grumbled. I knew she was making a vague reference to the case that had taken place at a nearby college last year. She had become a murder suspect under an alias, but it didn't change the fact that she had experienced a sleepless night within the detention center. Even if she had been far from chipper afterwards, she hadn't looked this terrible. 

"I feel like there's something else going on here," Deirdre murmured. "Memory loss, dizziness, a constant headache... We should bring this up as soon as we can."

A bailiff cried out for us to enter the courtroom, and Chrysalis cringed with a small whimper. She held up one hand to her temple and shook her head. "Alright... I guess we should head inside... I don't want to make the bailiff think it's a good idea to start yelling again," she grumbled. 

I looked up at the clock and let out a sigh. The time had flown by a lot faster than I expected it to. I walked towards the door, wrapping an arm around Chrysalis' shoulders. She leaned up against me, letting her eyes gently sweep shut from behind her glasses. "We're going to fix things in there," I assured her. "You don't have to worry."

She didn't open her eyes or tilt her head up in my direction when she spoke. "I hope so," she murmured unenthusiastically. She stumbled over herself twice on the way into the courtroom, and ice gripped at my chest. I was starting to think there was more to this case than met the eye, and the mere idea made me feel sick. 

**May 18**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**10:00 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

When we arrived in the courtroom, my first step was to look around and see who all we were dealing with. As expected, I saw Prosecutor Lin, Prosecutor Wood, and Prosecutor Umber when I glanced to the other side of the room. Prosecutor Lin was standing in the middle, and she was easily the most upbeat out of the three, still managing to stay positive despite the horrible situation her younger sister was in. Prosecutor Wood was clearly nervous, unable to keep still as she shuffled with many of the pages that sat on the bench before her. Finally, Prosecutor Umber was unreadable, hiding his emotions behind a mask of passiveness. It was strange to see him that way, though I guessed that maybe it was just in his nature. 

Next, my gaze shifted up to the judge's podium. Judge Diaphan was sitting there, holding her gavel in one hand. She lifted it and let it fall with a resounding echo. "Court is now in session for the trial of Chrysalis Starr," she declared. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

"The defense is ready," Mr. Morix declared without even bothering to ask me or Deirdre. He was standing on the other side of Deirdre, leaving me the furthest away from him out of the three of us. 

I looked over to the prosecution's area, and I saw Prosecutor Lin nod rather enthusiastically. I was starting to see a few cracks in her armor though, and it was becoming increasingly clear that she was only putting up a front of optimism in the dark situation. Regardless, she didn't hesitate to declare her answer when Judge Diaphan looked in her direction. "The prosecution is also ready!" she chirped. 

While I was moving my focus over to Judge Diaphan, my gaze passed over the witness stand. Chrysalis was standing there, though it was clear that she wasn't focused on the trial at all. She was looking down at the floor in front of her feet numbly, eyes glassy. She had one hand placed on the side of her temple, though I doubted it was doing much of anything to keep her headache at bay. 

"Before we continue with the trial... I would like to make a request," Mr. Morix said, snapping me out of my daze. I looked over to him after tearing my eyes away from where the clearly-nauseous Chrysalis was standing. 

"What is it?" Judge Diaphan questioned, her tone suspicious and inquisitive. She didn't seem to have noticed my gaze lingering for so long on Chrysalis, and if she did, she was choosing not to comment on it. 

"I would like our client to return to the lobby during the trial," Mr. Morix told her. "She's been complaining of physical sickness since arriving in the detention center, and I believe the prosecution can corroborate such."

Prosecutor Wood spoke up with a nervous nod. "Y-Yeah... She seemed to be f-feeling awful during the interrogation..." she said. Her voice was quiet, but I could still hear it despite the distance between us. 

Judge Diaphan pondered the request for a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'll allow for it," she announced. She turned her head to look down at Chrysalis next. "Return to the defendant lobby for the time being. I'll send some bailiffs to ensure no trouble is caused."

Chrysalis looked up to Judge Diaphan and nodded, though I could tell that she wasn't making eye contact with the older woman. Afterwards, she looked over to where I was standing with the rest of the defense team, and she shot us a thankful gaze before starting her slow shuffle away from the witness stand and out into the lobby. Nobody spoke until the doors lightly tapped shut behind her. 

"Alright. The prosecution should begin its opening statement at this time," Judge Diaphan declared, looking back to the prosecution once that issue had been sorted out. "Please tell us the details of the case."

Prosecutor Lin gave a light nudge to Prosecutor Wood, who nodded and pulled up a piece of paper. If I had to guess, I would have said that it was a paper containing a script for an opening statement. After all, Prosecutor Wood wasn't ever going to get better when it came to talking to people if she didn't put her skills to practical use. 

"The crime took place at a local theater just before the opening night of a show," Prosecutor Wood announced once she had properly mustered the confidence to speak. "The victim was one Saya Kan. She was stabbed once in the chest by a knife, and her body was lowered onto the stage using a platform at the time of the show's beginning. Her death was instant, and everyone in the audience saw her corpse."

"What led to the defendant becoming a suspect?" Judge Diaphan prompted, looking to Prosecutor Wood with a frown. Her gaze wasn't judgmental as far as I could tell, instead simply seeming curious. Then again, that was simply an assumption given that her face was hidden behind a mask just like it always had been. 

"She walked onto the stage covered in blood," Prosecutor Wood explained. "There was red staining the front of her costume, and she was seen by the entire audience covered in the victim's blood. Many found that to be rather odd, and she came to be seen as suspicious by investigators almost immediately because of this. There was also bad blood between her and the victim, and they were known to not get along."

"I see..." Judge Diaphan nodded. "Would you please call your first witness to the stand?"

Prosecutor Lin smiled her direction. "Of course. The prosecution now calls Abilene Umber to the witness stand," she announced, snapping her fingers with a wink. She was doing a rather good job at hiding how freaked out she must have been, I had to admit. Who knew she was such a great actress?

Soon afterwards, Detective Umber walked up to the stand. She was rocking back and forth on her feet, and her hair swayed along with her. She cast her gaze up to Judge Diaphan expectantly, waiting for instructions on what to do next even if she already knew the regular steps. 

"Please tell the court your name and occupation," Judge Diaphan eventually instructed of her. 

"I'm Abilene Umber. I work as a homicide detective at the local precinct," Detective Umber answered. "I'm the leading detective on this case."

"Please give the court more details about the case," Judge Diaphan told her sternly.

Detective Umber responded with a nod and a grin. "I'll get right into it!" she announced jubilantly. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Crime's Details ~**

_-"The crime took place within a set of bathrooms at the theater that was cordoned off from the public."_

_-"A Luminol test revealed that there were large amounts of blood mopped up in the area, and it belonged to the victim."_

_-"We aren't sure how the victim's body got moved, but it sure did, and she first was spotted on the stage during the show's opening scene."_

_-"The murder weapon was a knife brought into the building from the outside. It shouldn't have been at the venue, meaning this crime was premeditated."_

_-"The knife's blade held the blood of the victim while the handle had the fingerprints of the defendant."_

_"Oddly enough, the blood splatter would have put stains all over the knife's handle too, but for some reason, the stains were absent... How strange."_

I looked over to Deirdre after the testimony ended. Her eyes had gone wide, and I knew that she had figured something out. Granted, I wasn't sure at all what had suddenly caught her by surprise, but I had a feeling that there was something stirring beneath the surface. 

"Deirdre, what's on your mind?" I questioned. I nudged her gently with my elbow to get her attention when she didn't notice that I was speaking with her. "It seems like you're thinking about something..."

Deirdre opened her mouth to give a response, but she didn't wind up having the chance to do so. Judge Diaphan speaking up cut her off, prompting Deirdre to return to her passive thinking stance. 

"I see..." Judge Diaphan murmured. She looked down at us once she was finished mulling over the testimony. "Defense, please begin your cross-examination of the witness' testimony at once."

Deirdre nodded. "We'll get right to it," she declared. I could tell for sure that she was thinking about how to break through the testimony's holes. I hadn't noticed anything right off the bat, but I was able to trust her judgement. After all, she must have had a reason for jumping to the idea that she knew what to do, and I was willing to go along with it for the time being. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Crime's Details ~**

_-"The crime took place within a set of bathrooms at the theater that was cordoned off from the public."_

_-"A Luminol test revealed that there were large amounts of blood mopped up in the area, and it belonged to the victim."_

_-"We aren't sure how the victim's body got moved, but it sure did, and she first was spotted on the stage during the show's opening scene."_

_-"The murder weapon was a knife brought into the building from the outside. It shouldn't have been at the venue, meaning this crime was premeditated."_

_-"The knife's blade held the blood of the victim while the handle had the fingerprints of the defendant."_

_"Oddly enough, the blood splatter would have put stains all over the knife's handle too, but for some reason, the stains were absent... How strange."_

"Objection!"

Deirdre looked up with a smirk on her face. "I would like to point the court's attention to something unexpected relating to this case... It's on the same subject as the knife. It had bloodstains on the blade while the handle was spared of them. It seems odd given the predicted path of blood splatter, and I believe that I have found an explanation that would tell us where the blood splatter disappeared to. During yesterday's investigation, I found a prop knife alongside my coworkers in the backstage area. Forensics testing shows us loud and clear just what happened regarding the knife's odd properties," she announced. 

"What exactly did you discover?" Prosecutor Umber questioned with a heavy frown. He crossed his arms as he regarded us with disdain. 

"A prop knife was meant to be used during the show, but it went missing around the time the murder took place. It was rediscovered in the backstage area yesterday, and we called upon a detective working on the case to have it examined by forensics. It painted a rather interesting picture for us, to say the least," Deirdre went on. 

"The handle of the knife was covered in blood that had been wiped away. A Luminol test made that clear as day. The blade of the fake knife was coated in the fingerprints of the defendant," Mr. Morix said, picking up where Deirdre left out. "Doesn't this seem rather odd? Why would there be blood on the handle of the knife?"

"This only becomes more suspicious when you realize that the handle and the knife itself could come apart. They weren't meant to be stuck together," Deirdre declared. "So, the defense would like to propose the following... The defendant used the prop knife while the killer used the actual knife. Later on, the killer wished to frame her, so they removed the handles from both knives and swapped them out, wiping away the bloodstains on the real knife handle to make it appear as if it had been part of the prop knife all along."

"In other words, this was all a ploy to make it appear as if the defendant committed the crime, but the blood traces existing on the real knife handle prove the truth," Mr. Morix finished. "I believe the killer framed the defendant using the knife as a way to make her seem suspicious."

"Also, when you think about it... The discovery of the body is rather strange as well," I murmured. "I mean, why would Chrysalis walk out onto the stage if she was covered in blood? Everyone would see her like that and find her to be suspicious right off the bat. If she was trying to avoid being caught, then she wouldn't have done something like that. It just doesn't make sense at the end of the day."

"I think we certainly need to consider this..." Judge Diaphan. "It would make sense if the knife handles were switched out to keep people believing passionately that the defendant was the culprit."

"That means the killer was the one who took the knife, and they likely wore gloves to keep their fingerprints from getting on the surface of the handle," Deirdre said next. "It would be a perfect way to make it seem as if the defendant was the culprit, and nobody would find it suspicious unless they thought to look a little bit closer."

"I think this is certainly something we should keep in mind. The culprit must have been someone who had access to the backstage area," Prosecutor Lin declared. 

"That doesn't clear the defendant of suspicion," Prosecutor Umber cut in. "She still was able to move freely backstage, so we can't consider her out of the water just yet."

"I believe now would be the perfect time to hear more about the crime from someone who was backstage," Prosecutor Lin pointed out. "Your Honor, we would like to call our first witness at this time."

Judge Diaphan nodded. "You may do so. Witness, you are dismissed," she told Detective Umber. In response, the detective nodded and walked away, leaving the witness stand unoccupied. 

"The prosecution now calls Satoki Amaya to the witness stand!" Prosecutor Lin announced, shooting the courtroom's occupants another one of her heartwarming smile. She pointed to the stand as she did so. 

Satoki approached the witness stand soon afterwards, resting his hand atop the wood in front of himself once he was situated. He had an easy smile on his face, but I got the feeling he was more stressed than he was letting on. After all, why would a teen like him be used to entering a courtroom? It didn't make that much sense to me. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan instructed with a firm nod. 

"I'm Satoki Amaya," Satoki responded, placing one of his hands over his chest before bowing his head. "I'm an actor who was part of the production in the theater production."

"You were backstage at the time of the crime," Prosecutor Umber commented. "Since that's the case, you should tell the court about what you know was happening in the backstage area around the time the murder took place."

"Sure," Satoki said with a nod. "I can tell you everything that I mentioned yesterday during the interrogation session. Does that sound alright?"

Judge Diaphan nodded. "Go on and tell the court everything that you know," she declared. 

"Okay. I'll get right to it," Satoki responded. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Events Backstage ~**

_-"Before the show started, both Saya and Chrysalis went missing. I couldn't find either one of them, so I started searching."_

_-"Even if I couldn't find them, everyone seemed to believe that they were both fine. I guess a rumor started backstage that they were alright."_

_-"Chrysalis didn't resurface until right before the show started, and even then, she seemed pretty out of it."_

_-"One other odd thing happened in the week or so leading up to the show, though I'm not sure if it's connected to the murder."_

_-"Our second backstage helper, Hannah Blocker, backed out at the last minute, and Stayge Crewe, the stage manager, started acting weird."_

_-"The knife went missing around the time that Chrysalis and Saya did, but... Funny enough, I didn't even realize it had been returned..."_

"He didn't know the knife was back... I suppose the knife was snuck back at an unknown moment leading up to the show?" I suggested, placing one hand on my chin as I thought over a potential explanation. 

"We'll have to dig deeper into that to see what it could possibly mean," Mr. Morix said firmly. "It seems as if the disappearances are at the core of what happened at the time of the crime. We should try to figure out what happened to Chrysalis at the time."

"So far, we haven't seen any hints as to what happened though... I mean, she disappeared, and when she came back, she couldn't remember anything from the time of the crime. That seems rather suspicious to me," I told him. "Something must have happened to make her forget, but... What could it have possibly been? If she wasn't backstage at the time, where was she? How did she get back to the crew area backstage without being spotted or otherwise caught by her fellow performers?"

"We'll figure that out soon," Deirdre told us. "First off, we should jump into the cross-examination. I feel as if it will help us to figure things out."

Mr. Morix nodded and looked to Satoki, prompting him to repeat his testimony. He seemed to understand even without any further words being spoken, and he went back over everything he had said before. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Events Backstage ~**

_-"Before the show started, both Saya and Chrysalis went missing. I couldn't find either one of them, so I started searching."_

_-"Even if I couldn't find them, everyone seemed to believe that they were both fine. I guess a rumor started backstage that they were alright."_

_-"Chrysalis didn't resurface until right before the show started, and even then, she seemed pretty out of it."_

_-"One other odd thing happened in the week or so leading up to the show, though I'm not sure if it's connected to the murder."_

_-"Our second backstage helper, Hannah Blocker, backed out at the last minute, and Stayge Crewe, the stage manager, started acting weird."_

_-"The knife went missing around the time that Chrysalis and Saya did, but... Funny enough, I didn't even realize it had been returned..."_

"Hold it!"

"When did you last check for the knife's presence at the crime scene?" Deirdre questioned with a frown. 

"Hm... I was trying to find it right when the show was starting, but it was still missing at the time. I was worried it would cause problems for us later on. Afterwards, the body was discovered, and everything went to chaos, so... I didn't find it at the time. I checked it just before people surged into the backstage area to investigate, but it wasn't there," Satoki replied. 

"I suppose that the culprit must have put it back to its regular place after the police's initial investigation," I murmured. "I mean, if it had been there when they first went backstage, then they would have found it. We wouldn't have been the first people to stumble upon the knife prop."

"What you're saying is that the culprit must have been backstage sometime after the preliminary investigation... If that's the case, then we're looking for someone who was in the area both during the show and after the police were finished up in the area," Mr. Morix said softly. 

"I feel like we should hear from somebody else about the backstage area from the time of the murder," Deirdre remarked. "Maybe someone else saw something that was happening in the area around the time..."

"Honestly, I feel like there's not much of a way for us to figure out who moved the knife. If the culprit was wearing gloves, they could have very easily hidden the fact that they were holding the knife since we can't use fingerprint testing to track that," Mr. Morix frowned. "Perhaps we should move onto another line of questioning to learn more about the case..."

"Hm... Maybe we should ask more about the other odd things that were happening backstage at the time," I suggested. "There must be something that will lead us to an odd occurrence, and from there, it should hopefully be on the easier side to find a contradiction and unravel it fully."

"The defense would like to hear more about the issues involving the backstage crew from the times near the show," Deirdre declared. I looked up to her in confusion, and she glanced down at me before whispering an explanation. "Think about it. If the crime was premeditated like we suspect, then we might be able to find out more by unraveling the details from before the time of the crime. This is all that we've heard of as far as notable events before the night of the murder, so it's somewhere for us to start."

"Your request is approved by the prosecution," Prosecutor Lin told us, cutting in before Prosecutor Umber had the chance to say something pessimistic. Judging by the way he was heavily frowning, he was planning on objecting, but after Prosecutor Lin spoke, he seemed to give up on it with a heavy sigh. 

"Does the prosecution have any other witnesses that could explain such details behind the crime?" Judge Diaphan asked, tilting her head to the side as she addressed Prosecutor Lin. 

The woman nodded with a bright smile. "As a matter of fact, yes. There was one other performer backstage at the time of the crime who was helping to search for the victim and defendant, and I believe that he would be more than happy to tell us about the odd behavior of the stage crew," Prosecutor Lin replied. 

Judge Diaphan considered her words before nodding. "I see... In that case, the prosecution can call its witness at any moment," she told Prosecutor Lin. 

Satoki seemed to sense that his work was done, and he retreated from the witness stand a few seconds later. He shot us a smile, though I could tell he was still pushing it. Even so, I kept my comments to myself given the place we were in. 

Prosecutor Lin straightened out at Judge Diaphan's words before nodding her understanding. A smile spread across her face just like it had the other times she was asked to call a witness. "The prosecution now calls Shane Carmen to the witness stand!" Prosecutor Lin declared, pointing her finger at the empty podium. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh I really do love this case
> 
> -Digital


	15. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 5

**May 18**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**10:55 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

Shane walked up to the witness stand after he was called, and he glanced around the area in curiosity before falling still. I got the feeling he wasn't used to being in a courtroom, something I fully understood. It could be rather nerve-wracking to step up to the stand for the first time, after all. I doubted anyone would object to such a conclusion.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan declared firmly.

"I'm Shane Carmen... I'm working as an actor at the moment," Shane replied. "I was in the show that was taking place the night of the crime."

"In that case, your testimony will be highly valuable," Judge Diaphan murmured with a nod. "Now, I must ask you to tell the court about what happened involving the backstage crew in the days leading up to the show."

"We heard that there was something odd going on," Prosecutor Lin said next. "Anything that you could tell the court would surely be helpful."

Shane nodded. "Alright... I assume that you mean that you want to hear about Hannah and Stayge, so I suppose that I could go on and tell you about them," he declared.

"You know, Stayge's odd behavior is starting to bother me..." Yuri whispered. "Think about it. We've had to deal with hostility from killers in the past. If he did it, then it would make sense as to why he's been so resistant to talking to us. On top of that, he would have had free access to the knife as the leader of the backstage crew."

"You might have a point, but we don't have any solid evidence of that yet," I told her. "The crime was premeditated, so it would have made sense if the killer started acting strange a few days before the crime. It wouldn't have helped their case in the slightest if they were going to try and claim that they were innocent further down the line, but that sort of behavior would at least have an explanation."

"All we can do for now is listen to what Shane has to say. We can question Stayge more after this day of debating has drawn to a close," Mr. Morix pointed out. "Maybe Shane will tell us something that we didn't already know. That would be perfect for us to take advantage of when it comes to learning more about the case."

I nodded. "Alright. In that case, I suppose the best thing for us to do at this point would be to listen to his testimony... Maybe this will lead to us being able to talk to Stayge a little further down the line," I said quietly.

We all turned our attention back to Shane at these words. He had a determined glint in his eyes, and when he realized that everyone was waiting for him to start, he took in a small breath. A few seconds later, he launched into his testimony.

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Backstage Crew ~**

_-"There are two members of our backstage crew. The first is Hannah Blocker while the second is Stayge Crewe."_

_-"Hannah was always a bit... Rude, for lack of a better term. She has a bit of an attitude and knew how she wanted things done."_

_-"In fact, I don't think that Hannah really got along with anyone in the cast. She was doing this because she was pressured into it by her mother."_

_-"Stayge, on the other hand, was much more friendly. Granted, he was always on the shy side and avoided speaking, but he was still nice."_

_-"A few days before the show, Hannah decided to back out. I don't know what could have caused such..."_

_-"If Hannah was pressured into the show like she always told us, I doubt her mom would have let her go so easily..."_

_-"I've tried to text her, but I haven't gotten any answers. Since she left, Stayge has been quieter than usual, and it's really bothering me."_

_-"He didn't talk much before, but... The change is still rather sudden, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried."_

After Shane's testimony, I couldn't help but feel my suspicion of Stayge rise. What could be the reason behind such odd behavior coming out of nowhere? Even if he was planning a murder, he surely must have been aware of the fact that he was around a bunch of actors. They would have noticed it if he was putting up a front given how well they knew him even from a distance.

"When specifically did Stayge start acting strangely? In relation to Hannah's leaving the show, when did Stayge's odd behavior begin?" asked Mr. Morix, a frown on his face.

"It was right after Hannah left, actually," Shane told him. "At first, I assumed that it was stress. He was going to have to manage all of the backstage workings on his own after being so sure that he would be able to count on somebody else. Still, he hasn't bothered to reach out to the rest of us."

"And this is abnormal behavior for him... Even if he was distant from the rest of you, I would assume that he still knew how to ask for help when he really needed it," Yuri remarked to herself. "I suppose that we're really going to have to ask him about what's going on."

"What I'm hearing is that there's a definitive cause and effect relationship between Hannah leaving and Stayge closing himself off from the rest of the cast," Mr. Morix said softly. "I think that we should point this out. If all goes well, we'll be able to take this somewhere."

I nodded my understanding. "I'll be sure to point that out then," I assured him.

"Go on and start your cross-examination already," Prosecutor Umber cut in, ending the brief conversation we were having.

"We'll get right to it," I told him. The irritation didn't leave his eyes, but I figured he would calm down once we properly got started.

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Backstage Crew ~**

_-"There are two members of our backstage crew. The first is Hannah Blocker while the second is Stayge Crewe."_

_-"Hannah was always a bit... Rude, for lack of a better term. She has a bit of an attitude and knew how she wanted things done."_

_-"In fact, I don't think that Hannah really got along with anyone in the cast. She was doing this because she was pressured into it by her mother."_

_-"Stayge, on the other hand, was much more friendly. Granted, he was always on the shy side and avoided speaking, but he was still nice."_

_-"A few days before the show, Hannah decided to back out. I don't know what could have caused such..."_

_-"If Hannah was pressured into the show like she always told us, I doubt her mom would have let her go so easily..."_

_-"I've tried to text her, but I haven't gotten any answers. Since she left, Stayge has been quieter than usual, and it's really bothering me."_

_-"He didn't talk much before, but... The change is still rather sudden, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried."_

"Hold it!"

"The defense has a request to make regarding the sudden and strange behavior of Stayge Crewe," I declared, a frown on my face.

"What is it?" Prosecutor Lin questioned. She tilted her head to the side slightly to show that she was listening.

"There seems to be a direct correlation between the odd behavior of Stayge and the departure of Hannah from the show. Shane mentioned a moment ago that he thought it was related to stress at the beginning, but it seems to be much more than that," I explained. "If there really is a connection between Stayge's odd behavior and Hannah leaving the show, then I think we should talk to Hannah when we get the chance."

"I see..." Prosecutor Lin murmured. "That would make sense. Maybe she was aware of something from before she left the show. Her reason for backing out is still unknown, and if we can figure it out, maybe we'll be able to come across the truth."

"Have there been any attempts to get into contact with her?" Judge Diaphan questioned, turning her attention to the prosecution.

Prosecutor Umber hesitated before sighing. "That's a rather complicated matter, I'm afraid... We've tried to reach out to her, but we haven't been able to get through. Nothing we say or do is able to get her to reach out to us. No matter how many voicemails we leave, nobody's responding," he explained.

"We cast members have been trying to reach out to her for a while now... The person who told us that she was leaving was none other than Stayge," Shane declared. "I tried to message her, but I didn't get a response. As for Stayge himself, he doesn't seem to want to talk about it. Maybe he thinks that something bad happened to her... Though I don't know how he would come to that conclusion, and even if he did, why would he refrain from telling us?"

"If you ask me, we have two important things to look for after the trial ends today," I announced. "We need to find a way to get into contact with Hannah Blocker to figure out why she pulled out of the show. From there, we may be able to learn enough to get the truth out of Stayge. After that, we need to figure out how the body was moved from the bathroom up to the stage. Perhaps that will allow the pieces to come together."

"You still have not cleared the defendant's name," Prosecutor Umber frowned. "You seem awfully confident in yourselves when she is still the primary suspect between the blood and her grudge against the victim."

"Again, why would she wear blood out onto stage?" Mr. Morix questioned. "It simply doesn't make sense. She would have become a suspect immediately for something like that. Her having a grudge against the victim doesn't mean that it would come to murder though. Surely you must be aware of that."

"Even if Chrysalis and Saya didn't exactly get along, I don't think that either one of them would really go far enough to hurt one another," Shane cut in. "However, if something like that were to happen, Saya would be the one to initiate it. She seemed more than willing to lash out at Chrysalis when something happened and she felt attacked by the latter's silence. It wouldn't make sense for something to happen the other way around."

"And you can't make the claim of self-defense either," I pointed out. "After all, we know that the crime was premeditated thanks to the knife being brought in from the outside."

"All in all, I believe we need to look around and see if we can learn more about everything that has been happening," Mr. Morix declared.

"I want to see if we can find a motive for Stayge," Yuri whispered to us. "I mean, he's seeming pretty suspicious right now. If we can figure out why he would have hated Saya, then we can use that to turn the attention back on him... Of course, that's certainly much easier said than done."

"We'll figure something out," I assured her. I looked back up to the rest of the courtroom. "The defense would like to request more time to investigate all of these factors. We'll be able to find the truth behind this case if we are given the chance to explore the crime scene once again."

"Does the prosecution object to this?" Judge Diaphan questioned, turning her attention to the opposite side of the courtroom.

Prosecutor Lin looked to the other two curiously. Prosecutor Umber didn't seem too particularly happy with the matter, but since he didn't speak out against the idea, Prosecutor Lin didn't acknowledge it. "The prosecution has no objections," she announced.

Judge Diaphan nodded her understanding before picking up her gavel once again. "In that case, court is adjourned for a further day of investigation!" she declared before dropping the gavel onto the podium before her, ending things for the time being.

**May 18**

**Defendant Lobby No. 3**

**11:25 AM**

**Cotoli Morix**

"That trial was shockingly short, but you aren't going to hear me complain," Yuri remarked with a laugh once we were out in the lobby. "I guess it's time for us to set out once again to see what the scene of the crime has to offer us."

"Our first priority should be to figure out how the body was moved," I told the other two. "Afterwards, we can focus on contacting Hannah. Besides, I get the feeling Sora is going to focus her attention on that anyways."

"And you would be right."

I turned upon hearing the familiar voice of my sister nearby. Sora and Prosecutor Wood approached us. Prosecutor Umber was notably missing, but I didn't ask them about this.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to. Sora answered the question for me when she noticed I had caught on. "Prosecutor Umber is going with Detective Umber to take Chrysalis back to the detention center. I heard that she's still feeling sick even after catching a bit of extra rest on the couch out here," she explained.

I let out a sad sigh at her words. I should have seen something like that coming when Chrysalis didn't come to greet us. "I understand," I murmured. "So, you two are going to try and see what you can learn from Hannah, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. We're going to do what we can in order to figure out more about her. Even if we haven't seen much success so far, we're hoping to turn things around today," she replied.

"We're going to try and figure out how the body was moved," Deirdre told her. "If you find anything that we should know about, don't hesitate to contact us."

"Alright," Prosecutor Wood murmured, looking up at us nervously. She was fidgeting with the countless papers that she had crammed into her arms. Judging by the kind look in Sora's eyes, I assumed that my sister had offered to help her only to be turned down. Perhaps Prosecutor Wood was using the papers as a way of hiding from the rest of the world.

"We'll talk to you later then," Sora said with a smile. She turned on her heel with a small wave and walked away. Prosecutor Wood trailed a few steps behind her, and a few seconds later, they were gone.

"Hey... Can we talk for a moment?"

This time, I recognized the newest voice as coming from Satoki. He and Shane were standing together a few feet away from us, and I could tell that there was something they wanted to say.

"Go right ahead," Yuri told them before I had the chance to prompt them myself.

"I think I know how the body could have been moved," Satoki replied. "I didn't think about it during the trial, but... There's one way that Saya's body could have been transported without anybody thinking it was strange."

"Please tell us," Deirdre instructed, her gaze going dark at the idea of this new evidence. I saw her shoulders tense up at Satoki's words. 

"It's this prop bag we have backstage," Shane continued. "It's all used for moving props around the backstage area. There are some larger props that people can't really carry on their own, so we shove them into this bag that has wheels on the bottom and drag or push it along. It's pretty large, and while I never thought about it this way, it could have been used to carry the body from one place to another."

I looked over to the rest of the group, and I saw that Yuri and Deirdre had come to the same conclusion I had. If this bag was really large enough to carry a body, then it must have been used to carry people from place to place. When we got back to the crime scene, we were going to have to check it out as soon as possible. There would have had to be some evidence to show that the body had been placed in there if that was the method of movement. 

"We're going to head on back to the theater now," Satoki told us. "We want to see if there's anything we can do to help the investigation. We don't know how much we can do, but it's still worth trying."

"Thanks for everything, you two," Deirdre said, waving to both Satoki and Shane as they left behind the defendant lobby. Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to me and Yuri. "Well, why don't we go over everything we know before following them?"

"Okay," Yuri nodded. "First of all, the crime had to be premeditated. The culprit brought a knife in from the outside world, and it wouldn't have been in the area otherwise. The victim was stabbed in the bathroom, and her body was moved via an unknown method, perhaps the prop bag we already heard about."

"The knife handle was switched out with the handle of the prop knife as well," I continued. "The knife handle was forcefully torn off the prop knife and exchanged to give the illusion of Chrysalis' fingerprints being on the handle. In truth, she never touched the knife, and it was likely swapped when she wasn't present."

"There's also the matter of her weird memory loss. What could cause her to black out?" Deirdre questioned. "Whatever it was must have had a terrible impact on her. She's been unable to focus ever since the murder took place, and she still has the same headache as before despite not having a history of migraines."

"It's so strange," Yuri murmured. "If you ask me, there has to be something here that we aren't seeing. We have to deal with the subject of Hannah Blocker's sudden departure from the show and Stayge Crewe's odd behavior as well... It feels like most of the pieces are there already, but what could it all mean?"

"Hannah has been impossible to reach as well... There has to be an explanation, but we aren't going to be the ones to find it. I think it would be best if we placed trust in my sister. She can figure out what we're unable to determine, and she's going to bring the information back to us as soon as possible," I told them. "For now, I believe heading to the crime scene would be a good idea."

"We're going to need to make enough time to go to the detention center and check on Chrysalis too," Deirdre pointed out. "I don't know if we should leave her alone all day if she's still feeling as awful as it sounds like..."

I nodded my agreement. "I'm really starting to get worried about her, but... I suppose there's nothing we can do until after we get further along in our investigation. For the time being, let's head outside," I suggested. 

We were almost to the doors when I saw another group of figures approach us. Lily, Victoria, Sky, and Felicity were gathered together, all bearing expressions of concern. 

"You guys are here!" Yuri exclaimed. "I guess I was too focused on the trial to look for you guys in the gallery... Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Lily assured her with a shake of her head. "I'm just glad that you were able to power through the trial. It's a relief to hear that the trial is going well for the time being. We wouldn't Chrysalis to be arrested for this case, after all."

"I brought my boyfriend along to watch the trial... He seemed really interested in it for some reason, but he already left," Victoria said next. "He said that he was impressed with how you all did before heading out."

"Yeah, and he's apparently so shy that he didn't even want to meet little old me," Lily joked, nudging Victoria in the side with her elbow. "I suppose that I can't force anyone to want to talk to me though. I'm not that rude and heartless."

"I don't think you're rude and heartless at all," Sky murmured, looking down at the ground as he spoke. 

"What was that, Sky?" Felicity teased loudly, rubbing her shoulder against his when he flushed and chose to ignore her. "Did you say that you liked Lily? That's awfully sweet of you to say!"

"I think that we should move on for now," Sky suggested. "After all, we have much more important things to worry about. We should try to concentrate on figuring out what sort of evidence will be needed to free Chrysalis from the detention center."

"I assume that she'll be in questioning at the moment, but maybe we'll be able to see her later," Victoria said. "We heard that she wasn't feeling well at the start of the trial, by the way. What exactly is going on with her?"

"She's had a really bad headache since about the time the crime took place," Yuri replied. "We aren't sure quite why it is, but she's been feeling awful. She's already been taken back to the detention center so that she can get a bit of extra rest, though I would assume that questioning is going to happen before she can get some shuteye, as unfortunate as it is."

"At least that's something," Sky sighed with a shake of his head. "We should probably head back to the agency to hold down the fort while you all are gone. After all, it would stink if we missed out on a potential case right now."

"That sounds like a good plan," I agreed. "If there are any major updates, I'll try to notify you as soon as possible... Also, Victoria, if your boyfriend is really so interested in this case, he doesn't need to stay so far away. We'd be happy to meet him should he ever find himself curious enough to reach out."

Victoria flushed when the attention shifted back to her. She started to rock back and forth between her toes and heels. "Oh, I'll try to tell him that... He's always been a bit shy, but maybe he'll finally decide to break out of his shell to talk to you."

"I'd love to meet him," Lily pointed out with a smile. "But I suppose we have more important things to cover first. Besides, Chrysalis would not be happy if you introduced us to him while she was at the detention center."

"She'd certainly want to be there. After all, she'd never pass up on a chance to exploit somebody's weakness when it comes to playful teasing," Yuri grinned. "But I suppose that we have to make sure she's found innocent before we can get to that stuff."

"Exactly," Deirdre agreed. "All we can do for now is focus our attention on the next step. I believe that we can handle this without issues, but we need to find the last few pieces to make the greater picture fall into place."

"In that case, we won't keep you," Sky told us. "We would hate for your investigation to be pushed back because of us. Again, if you find anything out or otherwise need help, all you need to do is say so."

"Even if we have to hold down the fort back at the agency, I think we'll be able to help if you need something researched," Felicity piped in. "But until then, I guess it's about time for us to split up."

Nobody objected to such a sentiment, and we began to bid each other farewell. However, we were not able to finish our conversation on that note, as something distracting popped up to change the pacing of the goodbyes. 

Yuri frowned as we started walking towards the doors. There were a lot of people coming out of other lobbies, and I assumed that trials taking place in other courtrooms were starting to end. The hallway towards the entrance of the courthouse was starting to become rather congested. "I don't like the looks of this..." Yuri murmured. 

"We'll just have to power through it," I said with a small shrug. It wasn't as if we could force our way through the many people in the hallway. After we got out to the parking lot, things would hopefully calm down. I prayed that we didn't have to deal with any sort of gridlock, but I had to admit that it was starting to worry me. 

"I'm sure the traffic can't be that bad, right?" Deirdre questioned with a weary smile. 

**May 18**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**12:55 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

The traffic was that bad. 

After we left the courtroom, it took us ages to reach our destination at the theater itself. The traffic inside the courthouse hallways was just the beginning, and the parking lot was yet another nightmare. On top of that, there was a crash somewhere along the highway, and we were kept from reaching the theater for quite some time. I could feel the impatient anticipation buzzing in the air from Yuri and Mr. Morix the whole way, and I couldn't help but wind up feeling a bit antsy myself. 

When we finally arrived at the theater, there were police officers crawling around the area just like the day before, and I felt as if we had likely missed quite a bit of investigating. It had been ages since we set out from the courthouse, after all. We would have quite a bit of catching up to do as far as I could tell. Still, I shook off my nerves and started to walk towards the door. Yuri and Mr. Morix trailed behind me, but I could tell that they were just as fired-up at the sudden traffic delay as I was. I just hoped it didn't wind up being too much of an obstacle. 

First off, we traveled through the theater's lobby to wind up in the theater itself. There was something odd about the air, but I couldn't quite describe it. The space was eerily empty, and I felt a shiver run up my spine. Still, I shrugged it off and made my way up towards the backstage area as soon as I was able to convince my body to follow my instructions. 

When we reached the backstage area, I noticed the black prop bag sitting in the corner. Once it had been pointed out, it seemed impossible to miss due to its size. Sure enough, that could surely be used to carry a body from place to place. The bag was left shut, though the zipper was not done all the way. 

I don't know if could have even been called a bag, in all honesty. The sides were made of fabric, but it had wires inside that gave it the shape of a box. Either way, I wasn't going to nitpick the name. 

Yuri frowned as she walked towards the prop bag. She let out a small gasp as her toe struck something. She leaned down and picked up an overturned phone. The screen was pressed into the ground below. Yuri tilted it up, cringing at the bright light that exploded forth from it surface. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Morix moved to the light switch, flicking it into the 'on' position. Yellow illumination flooded the backstage room, and I moved closer to Yuri. She was examining the phone, and I realized that it had been left on. 

The screen was heavily cracked, as if it had been dropped. The screen still displayed what appeared to be a chat log, and I peered over Yuri's shoulder to see what it said. 

The owner of the phone had sent the following message just after the trial ended:

_Hey, Stayge? Are you okay? You've barely been talking to anyone since Hannah left the show, and we're starting to get worried._

It was followed up by a message from the recipient. 

_What are you talking about?_

Yuri's eyes steadily went wider as she read the next message from the phone's owner. 

_Hannah dropped out of the show, and you've been the only one backstage. You're so quiet nowadays, and it's like you're not even yourself anymore._

I let out a gasp as I read the final message. 

_Satoki, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been on the backstage crew in a while. I had to leave town due to a funeral._

The phone belonged to Satoki, and he had sent a message to Stayge. According to this chat log, Stayge hadn't been in the area for a few days, but if that was the case, who in the world was the stage manager that we had been speaking to?

Mr. Morix frowned to himself as he sniffed the air. He slowly approached the bag that we had initially been planning to check out before the phone was discovered, and he grabbed the zippers firmly before sliding the lid of the bag open. 

A gasp of strangled surprise immediately left his lips, and I ran to his side in an instant. 

When I saw what had shocked him so much, I screamed as well. 

Satoki was in the bag, crumpled in the fetal position. Red blood clearly stained his light hair, and his eyes were closed. I could see him breathing slowly, but it was still a surprising sight. 

"What the hell happened here?!" Yuri questioned, dropping the phone in her panic. Luckily, the phone did not completely fracture when it hit the ground once again. 

Mr. Morix picked the phone back up before shoving it into his pocket roughly. "I don't know, but... It appears the killer has just left another victim in their wake," he murmured. "The culprit is most certainly still here, and they're not happy in the slightest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a nice conversation with my friends about this series and it got me all hyped up to write it wow
> 
> -Digital


	16. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 6

**May 18**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**1:05 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Yuri cried out from beside me. I could see that she was trembling slightly on the spot as we looked down at the unconscious form of Satoki. It was hard to believe that something this terrible had happened so suddenly. Less than an hour beforehand, we had seen him and Shane at the courthouse, and everything had been fine. What the hell could have happened to make everything change so suddenly? It sent a shiver down my spine to think of. 

"We have to call for help," Mr. Morix answered. "I'm going to see if I can contact Detective Erikson. He said that he was staying here while Detective Umber came to testify during the trial today, so he must be around here somewhere. I'll tell him about everything. You two stay here."

"I want to come with you!" Yuri exclaimed, taking a step to follow after Mr. Morix. 

I held up one arm to keep her from leaving. "We have to stay here and make sure the culprit doesn't come back. If they return, they could move Satoki elsewhere for the sake of whatever twisted plan led them here in the first place. We have to ensure this place is kept the same as we found it," I pointed out. "Mr. Morix will be able to handle himself."

Yuri nodded hesitantly. "Alright... We'll look after Satoki for now," she said softly. "Can you give us his phone again? I want to see that text conversation we saw."

Mr. Morix nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket before pulling out Satoki's phone. He pressed the device into Yuri's hand, and a few seconds later, he quickly turned on his heel and disappeared, leaving me and Yuri in the backstage area. 

Yuri held up the phone, and I could see that her hand was shaking. "What could all of this mean?" she questioned. "I don't understand it in the slightest..."

"Let's take it from the very start," I suggested. "Satoki asked if Stayge was feeling alright after not talking all that much to the rest of the cast or crew... And then Stayge asked what he meant by that."

"He said that he hasn't been back here in a few days since he had to go out of town for a funeral, but... That's not possible. We've seen Stayge. We've spoken to him. Just yesterday, we were asking him what he knew about all that was going on. How could that not be him?" Yuri asked. 

I hesitated before answering. "I don't know if we've been talking to the real Stayge," I said softly. "What else could this conversation mean? If he hasn't been here in the past few days, then someone must be impersonating him. If that's the case, then who could possibly be fabricating his presence? What reason would they possibly have for doing so?"

Yuri sighed and shook her head. "I don't get it at all, but this has to mean something... I wonder if it fits into why Satoki was attacked," she murmured. "And what was he even hit with? It's clear that he was hit on the head by something, but I don't know what it could have been. There's nothing around here that has any blood on it."

"I must admit that I'm wondering the same thing... If he was attacked by the culprit, what did they use to render him unconscious?" I whispered. "It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that it has something to do with the text conversation, but this again brings us back to the question of who would want to impersonate Stayge. I know that there's a reason for it, but what could it possibly be?"

Yuri shrugged. "I wish I could tell you, but... I can't come up with anything. Where even is Stayge anyways? I know that we haven't spent much time looking around here since coming to the theater, but I haven't seen him anywhere... Well, I say Stayge, but it's clearly not the real person. We have to figure out what's going on with him before we can go any further, but I don't know how we're meant to do that," she rambled. 

"I don't think we should bring our concerns directly to him," I pointed out. "After all, that could be what happened to Satoki. If he figured out that the real Stayge wasn't here, then he could have attempted to confront the false version. If the faker was really desperate to keep their identity a secret, then they could have lashed out at him in order to keep the truth hidden."

"Then what are we supposed to do about all of this now?" Yuri questioned. "We have to talk to someone, but I don't know who. Shane and Satoki are pretty close. In fact, I haven't seen them further than a few feet apart at any given moment. Even during the trial, they were sitting in the same area when they weren't testifying."

I nodded. "Yes, I certainly see what you're talking about. There's never been a moment where they were alone, and it's a cause for suspicion to suddenly see only Satoki here with Shane nowhere in sight. Something could have happened to him," I told her. 

"I wish Mr. Morix would come back already... I want to go and look around at what else is here, but we can't do that as long as we're standing guard over Satoki. It's not a good idea for either of us to go at it alone either given that the culprit could still be here," Yuri said. "Okay, now I'm starting to get a bit nervous. Mr. Morix has been gone for a while, and he went out there alone. What if something happens to him? We have no way of knowing unless we go to look for him ourselves, right?"

I paused at her words. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Mr. Morix had been gone for a while, and even if he was trying to find Detective Erikson, we should have heard some update by now. If he wasn't able to find Detective Erikson, surely he would have settled for someone else. Ensuring that Satoki was safe and alive was his first priority, and now really wasn't the time to be picky. 

My main problem was that Mr. Morix had to know this. Even if he was prone to bouts of paranoia, I knew that he was a sensible, logical person. He knew what to do when things went south, but he still wasn't back. Something couldn't have happened to him... Right?

Yuri let out a frustrated huff and dashed further into the backstage area. I let out a gasp and trailed after her, reaching one arm in her direction. "Yuri! Wait up! We have to be reasonable about this!" I exclaimed, trying to hide the desperate panic that was quickly rising in my body. 

Yuri suddenly came to a halt when she was in the backstage area, and I nearly slammed into her. A scream left her lips, and I looked around furiously to figure out what had frightened her so much. However, it didn't take me long to figure out. 

A few feet away from us was Shane. He was leaned up against the wall, clearly unconscious. A thin trail of red was dripping down the side of his neck. He was breathing, but it was still obvious that something had happened to him. Much like with Satoki, he had been attacked, no doubt by the culprit. 

However, Shane was not the primary target of my shock. Further down the hallway was another person, and I recognized the lanky silhouette even from far away. I felt my hands rising to cover my mouth as I took a step towards Mr. Morix. 

Similar to Shane, he was unconscious, though he was fully on the ground rather than simply leaning against the wall. A few inches away from his face was a small bag that appeared to be filled with beans. The bag was drenched in blood, and the crimson liquid had already started to stain the carpet. I couldn't do much aside from stare, shock practically built into my features at this point. 

"What the hell happened here?!" Yuri exclaimed, running over to where Mr. Morix was stretched out on the ground. "We have to go and find help somewhere! But we're going to go together so that we aren't attacked, okay?!"

I nodded numbly, glad that Yuri was taking charge. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, but Yuri was far more proactive. She grabbed my wrist in between her fingers and started dragging, taking me out of the backstage area and back into the theater. Before I knew it, we were in the lobby, and I could see a tall figure nearby that I recognized. 

Relief hit me like a tidal wave as I spoke. "Detective Erikson!" I exclaimed. "We've found something that you have to see... It's about the witnesses and Mr. Morix...!"

"They were attacked!" Yuri piped in, finishing my thoughts for me. "We don't know who did it, but something happened to them!"

Detective Erikson's eyes went wide as soon as he realized the gravity of the situation. "Show me where they are. I'll have medics on it as soon as possible," he instructed of us. 

At his words, Yuri dashed back into the theater. I trailed after her back inside, and I could tell Detective Erikson was hot on my heels. We were backstage before I could fully process what was happening. 

Detective Erikson looked to Satoki in concern, and after a few seconds, he followed Yuri into the greater backstage area where Shane and Mr. Morix were located. Once he had looked at them for long enough, Detective Erikson turned his attention to us. "I'll get this under control. For now, go out into the lobby and tell everyone out there to come to the backstage area. I want you to stay away from the crime scene for now. You're witnesses, and we're going to need to hear the full story of what happened, alright?" he instructed. 

I nodded, not fully aware of what I was doing. Everything was moving so quickly, and I wasn't quite sure of how to process it. Yuri was the first one to move, and I followed behind her by a few paces. I had a bad feeling about all of this, and my stomach agreed when it tied firmly into a knot. 

**May 18**

**Grand Hall Theater**

**1:45 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

Yuri and I sat out in the lobby of the theater for what felt like years. I could barely sit still, constantly bouncing my leg up and down as a way of distracting myself from all that happened. Yuri, on the other hand, was unable to tear her gaze away from Satoki's phone. She read over the conversation between him and Stayge nearly each minute, trying to digest what this new information was going to mean for the case. 

Detective Erikson emerged from the theater after ages, and I perked up as Yuri looked away from the phone screen. "I'm glad to report that all three of them will be fine," he told us confidently. "They received minor head injuries, but they will be alright once they wake up."

"Do you know anything else?" Yuri pressed, her gaze practically pleading with Detective Erikson to say something, anything, else. 

Detective Erikson nodded. "We believe that the bean bag found near Mr. Morix is the weapon. It is regularly used to keep some of the props made to be wooden stands upright. You place it at the base of the stand to ensure that it doesn't fall over, so it's rather heavy. Unfortunately, the culprit took advantage of this, and that's what led to everything happening like how it did today," he went on. 

"Did they receive any further injuries?" I questioned of Detective Erikson with a deep frown. 

"Satoki and Shane were only hit on the head, but Mr. Morix was different. He was hit a second time in the stomach, bruising a rib in the process. Our prediction is that the culprit hit him in the stomach to get him to double over before attacking his head. It's clear to see how tall he is in comparison to other people, so anyone who was too much shorter than him would have troubles with knocking him unconscious," Detective Erikson answered. 

"That does make sense... Perhaps he walked in on the attack of Shane, and the culprit lashed out as a way of getting rid of witnesses. Even if the blow was far from being fatal, it would have caused a small amount of memory loss, and the truth would have been kept hidden," I remarked to myself. "So far, it's seeming like the order of operations was Satoki, Shane, and finally Mr. Morix, but I guess we have no way of being confident in that until proper medical reports come out."

"I don't understand why any of this happening..." Yuri murmured. "It's all so sudden. It was less than two hours ago that everything was fine, and now... I don't know what we're supposed to do from here."

"You can look around the scene if you wish," Detective Erikson replied. "Now that we've taken the victims away from the area, you can examine what evidence was left behind. Feel free to look for anything that might help your case. For now, I'm going to see what I can learn regarding the attacks."

"Thank you for your help, Detective Erikson," I told him with a bow of my head. He nodded in response before walking away, leaving me and Yuri alone together. 

"I don't know how we're supposed to tell Chrysalis all of this," Yuri said with a sigh. "She and Mr. Morix have always been so close. I don't think that she's going to take this news all that well, and it's only going to add to her stress."

"We're going to have to tell her though. Keeping the truth from her grasp will only hurt us more in the long run," I asserted firmly. "I agree that we will have to tread carefully from here on out... At the end of our investigation, we should see if we can talk to any of them. If their head injuries were truly so minor, then maybe we'll be able to hear the truth of what happened from their firsthand accounts."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Yuri nodded. "For now, I want to see that bag Satoki was in. We never got the chance to examine it properly, and I want to hear the truth for myself of what the bag's deal is."

"Let's get to it then," I agreed. I swallowed back my steadily rising nerves and started walking towards the theater once again. This investigation was not going well, but there wasn't much we could do to change that. All we could do was go along with it. 

The walk backstage to where the large bag was waiting for us felt like it took years. My feet were growing heavier as the reality of the situation set in fully, but I did my best to shake it off. Eventually, we arrived in the place that we had been in when we discovered that Satoki had been attacked, and I was relieved to see the bag empty. 

Yuri let her hand fish around in her pocket before pulling out her phone. She flicked it on and pressed a segment of the screen that turned on the flashlight before illuminating the inside of the bag. White light flooded the area, and I frowned to myself when I looked in the bag over her shoulder. 

The bottom of the bag was rather light, I had to say. In fact, the difference in color between the light gray of the bag's bottom segment and the rest of the container was strange. I could see a small area covered in blood on the top area where Satoki's head had been stationed when we found him within the container. However, that wasn't the only splash of crimson that I noticed on the bottom of the bag...

Yuri shifted her phone so that it was pointing light at the other side of the bag. There was another little patch of blood, but it was clearly on the smaller side. In fact, it was so tiny that it was barely noticeable at first. I tilted my head to the side in confusion with a frown forming on my features. 

"That blood shouldn't be here," Yuri remarked, cutting me off before I could comment on that very same subject. "It doesn't make sense. Satoki's head was on the other side of the bag, so how did the blood get all the way over there?"

I looked to her, knowing already the grave weight that had formed in my eyes. "There must have been another source of bloodshed to create that patch," I told her. "But there's no way it came from Satoki. Detective Erikson would have told us if he had received a second injury like he did with Mr. Morix, but there was nothing notable..."

"Was somebody else possibly placed in the bag then?" Yuri asked. "I don't know who it could have been though... There's not enough blood for that to be Saya, so what could have happened?"

I let out a gasp. "You're right... There's too little blood for it to be from the victim," I murmured. I realized that the edge of the bag's bottom layer was peeling up slightly. I reached out and took firm hold of it before prying the light gray away from the rest of the bag. 

The bottom of the bag was black, and I frowned upon this realization. What was the gray fabric doing at the bottom of the bag? It wasn't as if the bag had sustained any major damage that needed to be covered up. In fact, it looked to be in perfect condition...

Yuri, on the other hand, was distracted by something else. "Deirdre! Look at the other side of the fabric!" she cried, her eyes wide as saucers. 

I did as she instructed and rotated the fabric, a frown still on my face. A gasp left my lips as I realized that the other side of the light gray felt was covered in blood. "It looks like we've found our method for moving the body..." I whispered. 

"Since that side of the fabric was pressed down against the bottom of the bag, I would guess that the blood was originally on the container. That fabric could have been placed down over the bottom of the bag to cover up the fact that it was soaked in blood," Yuri pointed out. "But why would something like that be done in the first place? It's like the killer was trying to keep blood from getting on something, but what could that possibly mean?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I'm not sure, but this was certainly done the night of the crime. The blood would have dried on the bottom of the bag by now if the fabric was just placed in the area when Satoki was attacked," I pointed out. "I still don't know what the felt was meant to protect from getting stained though... Something else must have been moved using this bag."

"The bag has wheels on the bottom, so it's not all that hard to move if you try hard enough," Yuri remarked. To prove such, she gently nudged the bag, and it rolled a few inches before coming to a stop. "Plus, if it was regularly used to move props from place to place, people wouldn't get suspicious if it saw some usage right before the show. If it was zipped up, you wouldn't even notice that someone was inside of it. That's what happened with Satoki before we opened up the top of the bag, after all. That could have easily been done the night of the murder too."

I nodded. "You're right there... At this point, I just want to know where that other bloodstain came from. It's not from Satoki, but it's likely not from Saya either. Shane was never placed in the bag. We would have noticed it if that was the case. The same applies to Mr. Morix since he was attacked while we were looking after the bag... I don't know what could have happened," I said. 

"Maybe we're going about this in the wrong order. We should look around and see if we can find any traces of blood elsewhere around here," Yuri pointed out. "If we could find the weapon, then maybe we could figure out what happened. It's not like we can just turn the bag in to be tested right now with everything that took place earlier..."

"Alright. Where do you think we should start?" I questioned. I already had an idea, but I wanted to give Yuri the chance to offer a suggestion first. 

"Why don't we head for the bathroom?" Yuri suggested. "That's where the crime took place, right? If we could find something there, then I think it would make sense..."

"The blood of whoever was attacked would have been wiped up by the time the police arrived. It would have been cleaned up with everything else that was already wiped away by the culprit," I agreed. "Alright. Let's get to it."

I followed Yuri away from the backstage area and towards the bathrooms. We didn't run into anyone on the way there, and much to my relief, the area was empty when we arrived as well. I didn't want to have to deal with talking to people any more than we would already have to. I was still grappling with all that had happened in the past few hours, and I wanted to take things one step at a time until I was fully ready to face the reality of what had taken place. 

Yuri began looking around the restroom immediately, a frown on her face. She eventually noticed something that seemed to stick out to her, and she walked over to the counter. Yuri picked up a bottle of soap, and I stared at it for a moment before I realized that it was stuck in a metal container. The metal was on the thinner side, but it was clear to see that it could still do some damage if someone was struck with it. 

"I don't see all that much else in here that could have been used to attack someone with," Yuri remarked. "I mean, I guess a person could have been hit against the wall, but I feel like that would be too risky. It's harder to clean blood off a wall than off the floor, so the culprit likely wouldn't want to take that chance. There were enough balls in the air already as far as I can tell."

"If this soap container really was the weapon, then it would leave a blunt injury," I murmured. "A sharp weapon would leave a cut on the victim's head, but that doesn't seem to have been the case... You know, under the assumption that the soap was used to attack our unknown victim."

"I can't help but think who in the world could have been hit though. What would the reason be? It's not as if there are any other people for us to talk to about all of this," Yuri sighed with a shake of her head. "Do you have any ideas? I'm afraid that I'm coming up short at the moment."

"Let's go and check out the hallway for the time being," I suggested. "We can ask Detective Erikson to have the fabric, bag, and soap container tested for blood. If all goes well, he'll be able to tell us conclusively who was attacked thanks to forensics analysis."

"Okay," Yuri nodded. We left the bathroom behind not long afterwards, and soon enough, we were in the deeper backstage area where Shane and Mr. Morix had been attacked. For the most part, the area was empty aside from the smears of blood against the wall and carpet. I cringed upon seeing them and tried to keep my gaze from lingering there for too long. 

"I don't see anything here," Yuri said with a sigh once she had given the area an examination as well. "I mean, I guess it makes sense. This space is pretty blank, and all that it should be used for is walking in between the deeper backstage area and the segment right behind the stage. I don't think there's anything here for us to use."

"If there was something in the deeper backstage segment, the police would have found it by now, and Detective Erikson would have brought it up to us already," I pointed out. "I don't think there's much of anything else we can do until we can get things tested for blood with the help of the forensics team."

"I think I know of something we can do," Yuri told me, though it was obvious she was not looking forward to saying whatever was on her mind. The hesitation in her gaze said loud and clear that something was bothering her. 

"What is it?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. 

"We could go and tell Chrysalis about all of this," Yuri sighed. "We have to talk to her about it sooner or later, and there's nothing for us to do here. While Detective Erikson is busy, we can concentrate on other things, and we'll figure out a plan for what to do next after we've told her about this."

As much as I hated to say it, Yuri had a point. I was not looking forward to telling Chrysalis about everything that had taken place, but it wasn't as if hiding it would be able to help us. She could be able to help us figure out who had been attacked if we asked the right questions too. That was hypothetical, of course, but I was willing to grasp onto any hope at this point. 

A sigh of my own left my lips. "Alright... Let's go and tell Chrysalis about all that's happened," I agreed. I was not going to enjoy her reaction, that was for sure. To put it simply, she was just as protective of her brother as he was of her, even if she hid it a bit better. There was nothing that could keep her from trying to learn more, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for her to wind up that desperate while already feeling sick in the detention center. However, I also knew that hiding it from her was pointless. Chrysalis was too damn perceptive, and she would figure it out one way or another. It would be for the best if we told her upfront rather than leaving her to guess, even if the idea of explaining it all sounded downright dreadful. 

**May 18**

**Detention Center**

**3:15 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

When Yuri and I arrived at the detention center, there was an unexpected familiar face waiting for us. Mukuro was rocking back and forth on her feet within the visiting room, and I addressed her as soon as I figured out who she was. "I didn't expect to see you here, Mukuro," I remarked. 

Mukuro turned to face us with a bright smile. "Hey, you two! I'm guessing that you're here to see Chrysalis too, right?" she asked. 

Yuri nodded. "We are... But what are you doing here? I don't think you're involved with this case at all..." she murmured. 

"My dad wanted me to stop by and check on her. He told me that she hasn't been doing all that well since coming to the detention center, and since he can't exactly make sure that she's okay while investigating, he asked me to do it," Mukuro explained. "But there's a bit of a problem... I've been waiting for ages to see her, but nobody has brought her by."

"You're a detective, right? Maybe you can get clearance to go back and see what the holdup is," Yuri pointed out. 

Mukuro nodded. "I think I will, as a matter of fact. I'll be back in a jiffy!" she chirped before leaving the room behind. 

The visiting area was oddly silent after she left. The quiet tension felt like it was going to suffocate me if I wasn't careful, but I dared not to break it. My brain was left in a haze, and I prayed that Chrysalis got there soon. Judging by the look on Yuri's face, she felt the same way. 

A scream ripped me from my thoughts, and I perked up immediately. "That sounded like..." I began. 

"Mukuro!" Yuri finished with a yell of surprise. She scrambled away from the room, and I followed after her once I had gathered my bearings. 

Even if we weren't meant to be going into the holding cells of the detention center, we were able to get in no problem. I soon realized why security at the front of the wing was so lax when I saw a cluster of guards standing around a specific cell. 

My stomach dropped, and I gasped as soon as I was close enough to see what was within the cell. 

It was Chrysalis, lying facedown on the gray ground. There was a knife sticking out of her right shoulder, and red had formed a small pool around her upper arm. Her other hand sat next to a clumsy set of letters that read out a single word: 'BLOCKER'. 

I couldn't do much more than stare, feeling bile rise in my throat. I didn't think this case could get any worse, and yet, it had somehow managed. How much more twisted could this killer get?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I really do love this case
> 
> -Digital


	17. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 7

**May 18**

**Detention Center**

**3:30 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

I don't know what exactly was going through my mind when we saw Chrysalis on the ground of her cell, but I knew my mind was screaming something. It was like a spinning tornado of confusion and terror had taken firm hold of me, and my stomach only continued to twist into a deeper knot as the seconds ticked by. I couldn't tear my gaze away from where Chrysalis was stretched out on the ground no matter how much I wished to, and I couldn't help but swallow nervously. This didn't even seem real, but I knew that it had to be. 

Time seemed to pass in a blur as medical professionals arrived. Yuri and I were pushed away from the scene, and Mukuro followed us out. There was a sad smile on her face, but I didn't get the chance to ask her about it. She pulled her phone from her pocket and passed it over to me, stealing my attention prematurely. 

My eyes went wide when I realized what she was trying to show me. It was a picture of the detention cell that Chrysalis had been. In other words, it was a photo of the crime scene. Realizing that phrase was true only made me feel more sick to my stomach, but I did my best to shove such concerns down. I didn't want to have an extreme reaction when things were awful enough as it was. The last thing we needed was for things to somehow get worse. 

"It's a picture of the crime scene," Yuri remarked. I hadn't realized that she was peering at the phone from beside me until she spoke, and I nearly jumped in surprise. I passed her the phone to give her a better look at what was on the phone's screen. 

"Yeah. We're going to have to do quite a bit of digging if we want to figure out what all of this is about," Mukuro told me. "But I'm sure that we'll be able to figure it out sooner or later... That's what I'm hoping, at the very least. She was somehow attacked while in the detention center, something that shouldn't be possible given the high security of this place. On top of that, there's the matter of the name written in blood..."

"Blocker," I murmured. "We know that Hannah Blocker is involved with this case, but there's not exactly anything that points her to the detention center aside from the fact that her name is written there. I don't understand it in the slightest... Nobody has been able to get into contact with her since the case started, so why is her name popping up now?"

"Most importantly, is she going to be okay?" Yuri questioned, looking to Mukuro solemnly. "It's not exactly a good starting point to see someone collapsed on the ground with blood everywhere..."

"She'll be fine," Mukuro replied. "That's what I heard from the medics working on the case, anyways. They said that the knife didn't hit anything vital, and she likely passed out from shock at being attacked in the first place rather than blood loss. As for the message in blood... We're pretty sure that she wrote that herself."

"I would agree," I nodded. "Chrysalis is right-handed, but the knife was in her right shoulder. It would have been too painful for her to write using her right hand as long as the knife was in there, and she couldn't exactly pull it out without getting hurt further."

"The writing would have been neater if the culprit was using her hand to write," Yuri continued. "She's not experienced with writing using her left hand, so that's why it all looks so messy. She was working with her non-dominant hand."

"That's important to know, but I still don't understand what it could all mean," Mukuro murmured with a shake of her head. "How could someone sneak into the detention center to attack her? The security here is tight to ensure that nobody can get in or out to cause problems. That's how it's always been, so why is it that this was able to happen?"

"If anything, I would say that this is just another reason to contact Hannah Blocker. There has to be a reason that her surname was written in blood," Yuri remarked. "I wonder why we still haven't heard anything about what she's been up to... If she's as heavily involved in this case as it's sounding, you would expect us to have heard at least something."

"Blocker... The fact that it's Hannah's surname makes a connection too blatant to ignore. I can't imagine that it would mean anything else," I said softly. "But why would she be connected to this? She pulled out of the show at the last minute, something is strange enough on its own, and then this happened."

"I wish we had a way of getting into contact with Prosecutor Lin," Yuri sighed. "I mean, Mr. Morix is the one with her phone number, and it's not as if we can just go into the hospital to take his phone and then leave. He was a victim of a crime, and that crosses far too many lines to be allowed."

"Maybe we could go down to the hospital anyways," I suggested. "I doubt there's much of anything else for us to look at here..."

"Actually, I would object," Mukuro said. "I'm going to try and get us into the detention center cell. We can at least give it a brief examination before leaving. How does that sound?"

"That would be amazing," Yuri grinned. "There has to be something else that catches our attention around there. The culprit wouldn't have had much time to commit the crime if they wanted to avoid being caught, so something must have been left behind."

Mukuro nodded our direction before dashing off. I looked to Yuri after she had departed and let out a sigh. "There are a lot of shifting pieces to this investigation... It feels as if nothing has been answered from the trial," I admitted. 

"We've figured out how the body was moved, but we just keep coming up with more questions. First, there was the other spot of blood within the bag. Afterwards, we found that weird conversation between Satoki and Stayge on the former's phone. On top of all that, we've got four people who were attacked by the real culprit," Yuri sighed. 

"This does at least clear Chrysalis' name," I pointed out. "All of this happening while Chrysalis was still in the detention center makes it seem as if she didn't do this... But that begs the question of why the culprit went this far in the first place."

"I want to know who the fake Stayge is," Yuri frowned. "I mean, what if they were the one to attack Satoki? If he figured out that the Stayge we've been talking to isn't the real one since the actual Stayge left town... The imposter would want to keep that a secret, even if it meant going to drastic measures."

"It's as good a guess as any," I murmured. "It still seems as if there's too much for us to figure out at this point. I hate to say it, but... We're going to have to wait until the trial tomorrow so see what else has been found. I just don't think we're going to be able to make any significant progress with all of our witnesses in the state that they are. We're just as stuck as before."

"The least we can do at this point is wait for the blood test on the gray fabric to come back," Yuri shrugged. "Did we even request to have that done?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so... Everything has been moving too fast..." I said softly. "We'll have to figure out our next step after we look around the cell."

As if on cue, Mukuro came back into the room. She gestured for us to follow her, and when we did, we found ourselves back in the hallway that the majority of the guards had been in earlier on. Mukuro allowed us to step into the cell, and I cringed upon looking down at the floor. 

The bloodstains remained, though they were much smaller than I expected. I could see the streak of a fingerprint where Chrysalis' hand had been writing out the word 'Blocker'. There was one other thing that caught my attention, though, and I decided to focus on it above all else. 

A thin string of blood went from the spot on the ground over towards the bed. I decided to follow the trail, and I wound up standing right next to the bed. A gasp left my lips as I realized there was a small splotch of crimson on the covers, partially going onto the pillow. 

"There's blood over here..." I murmured. "Why is there blood all the way over here when she was found on the floor? The only explanation I can think of is that..."

"That she was stabbed over here," Yuri answered. "But how could she have been stabbed on the pillow? The knife didn't go through her shoulder completely, so..."

"The knife must have been propped up against the back of the pillow," I declared. "If the knife was positioned so that the blade was facing up, when Chrysalis went to lay down, it would have gone into her shoulder..."

"The culprit could have set that up when she wasn't in the cell and then left to ensure that she had an alibi for the crime," Mukuro finished. "That would make sense, actually... We didn't see any traces of potential culprits when the guards arrived, so the one responsible must have already made their escape by that point in time."

"All that we can do at this point is wait to see what the medical examiners find, I guess," I murmured with a shake of my head. I opened my mouth to say something else, ready to set off for the hospital, but I was cut off by a phone starting to buzz within my pocket. I frowned and shoved my hand into the space before producing the device and accepting the call. "Hello?"

 _"I'm glad you picked up,"_ Detective Erikson said from the other side. _"Did you hear about what happened at the detention center? Chrysalis was--"_

"I know," I answered with a sigh. "I was there."

Detective Erikson paused for a moment, considering his next set of words. _"In that case, I think I might have something else that would surprise you... She was brought to the same hospital that the others are at, and I overheard something from the examiners looking after her. There was something else strange they noticed during the investigation, and you're going to want to hear about this,"_ he continued. 

I frowned at his phrasing before pulling the phone away from my ear and pressing the speaker button. "Go ahead," I prompted, already nervous about what he was about to say on the matter. 

Detective Erikson took in a shaky breath before speaking once again. _"She suffered from a concussion recently. Remember that headache she's been complaining about? It was caused by a head injury inflicted a few days ago. It's impossible to say how serious it was since they're still looking into it, but... I think we know why she's been feeling so sick as of late,"_ he explained. 

My eyes went wide as all the pieces began to click together. Chrysalis' complaints of sickness and her faded memories from the time of the crime... All this time, there was a second victim behind this case, and she was standing right in front of us. We had assumed that her migraine was simply a coincidence, but it was impossible to say that was the case now. 

Yuri suddenly gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. "Deirdre! Remember the blood we found on the bottom of the bag?! The other patch that was on the gray fabric?!" she cried out. "I think we know who it belonged to now!"

My jaw dropped as I realized that she was likely right. What if Chrysalis had stumbled into the bathroom shortly after the crime took place? From there, she could have been hit by the soap container on the head, knocking her unconscious and injuring her head in the process. Afterwards, it would have been easy to smear blood on her clothing to frame her for the crime. She could have been put into the bag afterwards. If her concussion was severe enough to draw blood, then that would explain where the small patch on the other side of the bag came from. The fabric was placed down to prevent her from being covered in Saya's blood on the back where it wouldn't have belonged. It was all starting to make sense. 

_"None of the others are cleared to speak with anyone yet, and I doubt they will be until tomorrow. There's probably not all that much left for you to do, but if you have any requests for things that I should check out, say so now,"_ Detective Erikson went on. 

"As a matter of fact, there is something we want you to check out," I replied. "Check for bloodstains on the bottom of a soap container within the girls' restroom where the crime took place. After that, check the bag where Satoki was found again. There was a gray piece of fabric placed on the bottom, and we think that Chrysalis might have bled onto it around the time of the crime."

 _"I'll look into that as soon as possible,"_ Detective Erikson replied. _"Try to stay out of trouble until the trial tomorrow. I'll talk to you later."_

He hung up soon afterwards, and I let out a heavy sigh before looking to Mukuro and Yuri. "That solves at least one more mystery... But there's still a lot for us to figure out yet. All we can really do is wait to see what happens at the trial tomorrow," I whispered. 

"We can do this," Yuri declared boldly. "Everyone is counting on us. Between Chrysalis, Satoki, Shane, and Mr. Morix... Lots of people have been hurt by the culprit aside from just Saya, and we owe it to all of them to reveal the truth behind what happened. We can totally pull this off."

I nodded dully in agreement, but I couldn't help the bad feeling that was starting to rise up within me. We had to find a way to figure out this case, but I didn't know what to do in order to make the pieces start to fit together. We were going to have to figure something out sooner or later, but I didn't have the slightest idea as to how we were supposed to start. Even with a few of our questions answered, there were still far more inquiries that required attention, and it wasn't as if the information was going to fall into our laps easily. This was going to be difficult, but we'd have to figure it out somehow. 

**May 19**

**Defendant Lobby No. 3**

**9:40 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

The next morning, I shuffled into the defendant lobby with a sigh before flopping dramatically onto the couch. Deirdre followed behind me by a few feet since she had picked me up before bringing us both to the courthouse. She chose not to acknowledge my over-the-top actions. 

"I didn't sleep well at all," I grumbled with a shake of my head. "I couldn't stop thinking about everything that could have happened while we were gone. Then again, if anyone got hurt again, we would have already heard about it, but... It's still stressful."

"On top of all that, we're not going to be seeing the rest of the group in the gallery today," Deirdre frowned. "Lily, Victoria, Sky, and Felicity decided to stay at the hospital to look after Mr. Morix and Chrysalis."

I nodded, remembering having heard about such through the agency's group chat. Still, it did little to make me feel better about the battle in the courtroom that was to come. I knew going into this case that it wasn't going to be easy, but the universe just insisted on making things ten times harder for us. I didn't know who the culprit was, but I was not happy with them in the slightest. 

"What did you do with Satoki's phone, by the way?" Deirdre questioned. "I got a call from Detective Erikson before I came here. He was asking about it. Apparently, everyone's awake by this point, but none of them remember what happened when they were attacked."

"I took a screenshot of his conversation with Stayge and texted it to myself. I knew it wasn't going to be staying on the entire night, so I prepared a backup plan," I explained. "I think we can give it back at any moment... Maybe we can drop it off after the trial. After all, I'm going to want to go and see the rest of the group once this is over."

Deirdre nodded her agreement. "Same here... Last I heard, Chrysalis is doing much better compared to how she was in the detention center too. She was finally able to get some medication for her headache, but Detective Erikson mentioned that she's still been sleeping a lot," she went on. 

"That's good to hear... I know detention center beds are hard to sleep in even on good days. I mean, good days don't really exist in the detention center, but it's only harder to relax when you have a migraine created from a concussion," I told her. "Anyways, what's our plan going to be?"

Deirdre hesitated before shaking her head. "I'm afraid that I don't know quite yet. There's not much that I've thought through as of now. Obviously, we need to figure out what's going on with the imposter Stayge, but we didn't run into them at all yesterday. Unless the prosecution was able to drag them out of hiding, there's not much we can do in relation to them. We should start off by showing the conversation between Satoki and the real Stayge though," she replied. 

"You're right there," I agreed. "I feel like it's going to be our first step to figuring out what the hell is going on here. We know for sure that there's some funny business going on here, and that conversation is our proof of such... We'll just have to figure out who the imposter is."

"On top of that, we're going to need to deal with Hannah Blocker as well. I spent most of the night thinking about how she would be involved with the attack in the detention center, but I still can't think of anything that makes sense. I just hope that the prosecution was able to contact her. We didn't get the chance to ask with everything that was happening," Deirdre frowned. 

"We'll just have to see," I shrugged, unsure of what else to say. In that moment, all I wanted to do was go into the courtroom and get this over with already. 

Luckily, I wouldn't have to wait for much longer. A familiar face appeared, and a grin appeared on my face as KJ Jett spoke. "You're needed in the courtroom," KJ told us. 

I practically threw myself on top of him in response. "Hey! It's been too long since I've had the chance to talk to you," I smiled. "I hope that you're doing well."

KJ responded with a nod. "Yeah... Something came up last minute, so I was asked to fill in for the shift of the bailiff who was previously covering this case. I'm not objecting though; it gives me a chance to see you two again," he said casually before glancing around the area. "I would have expected to see more people from your agency though..."

"Will you be coming into the courtroom with us?" Deirdre questioned as we started moving towards the doors nearby. 

KJ nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"You'll figure it out soon enough," I replied with a small cringe. "Anyways, we should get going. It was nice seeing you again, KJ."

Concern appeared on his face at my words, but I tried not to let that stop me. I kept walking into the courtroom, looking up to Deirdre as we passed over the threshold. I wanted to tell her that we had this all under control, but it was hard to find optimistic words in that moment. Everything that had happened the day before was starting to weigh me down, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to deal with it. At the very least, we would hopefully be able to figure out the truth behind the case. It was what Chrysalis, Mr. Morix, Satoki, and Shane deserved. 

**May 19**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**10:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

Judge Diaphan's gavel hit the bench before her once Yuri and I were settled in our places. The sound echoed as she spoke. "Court is back in session for the trial of Chrysalis Starr. Are the defense and prosecution ready?" she questioned. 

I shared a brief glance with Yuri, though I could tell that she wasn't as prepared as she would have liked to be. I couldn't blame her in the slightest given everything we had gone through the day before. Still, I shook it off and offered my response. "The defense is ready," I told her, hoping nobody was able to pick up on how uncertain I was. 

"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Lin announced. When I looked over to her, I realized that she wasn't in peak form either. Her eyes seemed sunken and tired. It was easy to come to the conclusion that she had spent much of the previous night worrying about her older brother and younger sister. Prosecutor Lin was related to both Mr. Morix and Chrysalis, so that meant concern and anxiety practically ran through her veins. She may have hidden it better, but the issue was still just as present. 

"I heard that much happened during yesterday's investigation. Prosecution, would you please offer an update on the matter?" Judge Diaphan asked, turning her attention to the trio standing on the other side of the courtroom. Meanwhile, she set down her gavel off to the side carefully. 

Prosecutor Lin nudged Prosecutor Wood gently with her elbow, and the youngest member of the team cleared her throat before speaking up. "Yes... Of course. There were four other crimes that took place during yesterday's investigation. First off, one of the previous witnesses, Satoki Amaya, was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head and shoved into a prop bag backstage," Prosecutor Wood began. "Shane Carmen, another witness, was hit on the head as well in the deeper backstage area. Cotoli Morix, one of the members of the defense team, was attacked as well, receiving a blow to the back of the head and the ribs. All three were unconscious when they were found."

Judge Diaphan frowned deeply at her words. "I see... What else transpired?" she questioned. I could hear concern seeping into her voice despite her best attempts to hide it. 

"At the detention center, the defendant was attacked. A knife was found lodged into the back of her right shoulder, and she was discovered unconscious in her holding cell. Nearby, the word 'Blocker' was written in blood," Prosecutor Wood continued. "At the time, there weren't any guards standing outside of her cell. There should have been a few people patrolling the hallway, but nobody was present. She was also found to have been hit on the back of the head around the time of the crime."

Judge Diaphan nodded in acknowledgement. "I see... Is there anything that the defense wishes to mention on the matter?" she asked, turning her attention to where I was standing with Yuri. 

"As a matter of fact, yes," I replied. "The defense found a piece of gray fabric at the bottom of the bag where Satoki Amaya was found yesterday. When it was removed, we realized that there was blood on both sides. We sent it in for forensic testing, but we believe that this bag was used to move the body the night of the crime. There was a large amount of blood on the bottom, enough to have easily come from the victim, Saya Kan, after she was stabbed to death."

"This would solve the issue of how the body was moved from the bathroom to the backstage area before it was displayed for the crowd," Prosecutor Lin murmured. "You said that there was blood on both sides though. What about the other side?"

"The fabric was placed down after the victim's body was moved," Yuri answered. "Saya's body was placed directly into the bag, but once she was taken out of the bag, the fabric was put in to make sure that nobody wound up covered in blood if they went into the bag as well. The defense thinks that this is because the culprit was planning on using the bag to transport a second person as well."

"A second person?" Prosecutor Umber echoed. "Who is this second person you're thinking of?"

"The defendant," I declared. "She was given a concussion the night of the performance. Your team has already mentioned such. She would have been unconscious after the hit, which we think was delivered by a container of soap made of metal found within the bathroom. That's why she's been complaining of a headache ever since this case began, and it's how she was covered in blood. While she was unconscious, the culprit used her clothing to wipe up the blood, leaving her stained by it when she went out onto the stage. The defendant was not in the right state of mind due to her head injury, and she didn't realize that she was covered in blood until it was too late."

"You keep on talking about a hypothetical killer, but you aren't telling us who it is," Prosecutor Umber pointed out with a frown. "Who is it that did all of this? Without solid evidence or a conclusive theory as to who did something of this nature, we aren't able to accept your words. They are little more than conjecture without proof."

I hesitated before looking away from him. "We haven't figured out for sure who the culprit is, but we do have one thing to point out to the court. Something peculiar happened after Satoki Amaya was attacked, you see. His phone fell onto the ground, and we found it. The screen was facing the floor, so it would have been difficult to see in the dark backstage area. However, the true oddity is what was shown on the screen whenever we discovered it," I began to explain. 

I got the feeling Prosecutor Umber had more than a few complaints about our sudden changing of the subject, but he didn't say anything. He was cut off by Prosecutor Lin before he could get the chance to speak up. "What exactly did the phone show?" she questioned. 

"It was a conversation over text," Yuri piped in. "To be more specific, the conversation displayed was between Satoki and Stayge Crewe. However, that's where things get to be a bit more shaky... I have a picture of the conversation here, should anyone wish to read it. I'm sure you'll see the problem as soon as you read over the messages."

Prosecutor Lin tilted her head to the side in confusion and held out one hand to show that she was intrigued. In response, Yuri dashed across the courtroom, phone in hand. She pressed the device into Prosecutor Lin's hands, the picture of the conversation between Satoki and Stayge already pulled up. Prosecutor Wood and Prosecutor Umber looked over their coworker's shoulders to see what she was reading. After they were finished, the phone was handed back to its proper owner, giving Yuri the chance to move the device up to Judge Diaphan's seat. 

"That's... That's rather interesting," Prosecutor Lin murmured, but it was clear there was more on her mind than simply the term 'interesting'. She shook her head and closed her eyes. "If those messages are to be believed, then we haven't come into contact with the real Stayge Crewe during this case at all."

Once Judge Diaphan was finished reading the conversation, Yuri moved back to stand next to me. Judge Diaphan watched her carefully, a frown etched into her features. "Hm... How strange," she murmured. 

"This conversation would explain one other thing that we found to be of note yesterday as well," I said next. "If the Stayge Crewe that we know is different from the person Satoki was texting, then that would explain the peculiar behavior of Stayge as of late. Perhaps the switch took place a few days before the performance began, and if that is the case, then... His sudden aversion to speaking with the rest of the cast would start to make sense. It wasn't a matter of shyness or stress. He had become an entirely different person."

The gallery burst into chatter at this explanation, and I looked over to Yuri with a frown. I felt like the truth was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't know what to make of it. It felt as if I could reach out and try to grab at the real answer, but my fingers only barely grazed it, and I wouldn't get any closer without further evidence. Stayge's sudden shift in behavior made sense with the imposter theory, but that left one important question to be answered. 

Who was the imposter Stayge? 

When they dropped the disguise, what was their true identity? Why would they want to hide the truth about who they were in the first place? 

I didn't know, but I had a feeling I was about to find out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final trial time aaaaaaaa
> 
> -Digital


	18. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 8

**May 19**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**10:20 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

"What do you think we should do from here?" Judge Diaphan questioned, turning her gaze towards me and Deirdre. "You believe that Stayge Crewe was not present at the time of the crime, yes? Could you go into extra detail about how you think this is?"

Deirdre nodded. "Of course... I believe something like this happened. Stayge Crewe announced that he would no longer be able to participate in the show... Well, I say announced, but it was likely a message to one person that he asked for them to pass on. After all, according to this chat log, it seems as if Stayge's departure was a rather sudden affair. He didn't have the option to tell anyone before he was forced away," she explained. "The person that he told wound up taking on his identity for some reason, though I can't quite say why."

"Who could have done this?" Prosecutor Umber asked, his gaze intense. "I think everyone would love to hear about who you think could be responsible for hiding their true identity behind this alias."

I hesitated before speaking. "I'm afraid we don't exactly know yet... We've been trying to learn more, but our progress was sort of slowed down with all of the attacks from yesterday's investigation session. It caused a few problems for us right off the bat, and we weren't able to figure out who was responsible for all of this," I replied. 

"I have to wonder where Hannah Blocker fits into all of this," Prosecutor Lin remarked with a heavy frown. "We spent all of yesterday trying to reach out to her again, but there were no answers to be found. It was a bit of a mess, to say the least. We still haven't found any clues as to where she's disappeared to."

"That's rather peculiar... Given that she was working on the backstage crew with Stayge, you would expect her to have heard about all of this. I mean, if he was leaving, he would want to tell her, his helper backstage, that he wouldn't be there," I frowned. "Even so, she's still just as unaccounted for as she was in the beginning of this mess."

"Would we be able to call the person who has been masquerading as Stayge to the witness stand?" Judge Diaphan questioned, looking over to the prosecution intensely. "I imagine that you still decided to have them on hand just in case we would need to hear their testimony."

Prosecutor Lin nodded. "As a matter of fact, we did decide to do that... It was hard to reach them yesterday though. We didn't get a hold of them until well after all of the attacks had taken place, as a matter of fact," she answered. "But they should be waiting out in the lobby."

"They said that they weren't feeling amazing and wanted to wait out in the lobby unless they were called upon," Prosecutor Umber explained. "This works out perfectly for us. We're going to have to hide what we know for a moment. They aren't going to open up about who they truly are at first. It's all about delicacy here."

"We have to pretend that we don't know the truth to get them to let their guard down, but once we have evidence of all that they've done, we'll strike," Deirdre agreed with a nod. "That sounds like a good plan. The defense has no objections to calling such a witness."

"In that case, I'll go get them," Prosecutor Umber declared. He walked for the doors soon after, and chatter burst out in the courtroom once again. 

I took this chance to look over to Deirdre. "Are you thinking what I am?" I questioned. "All of this... I don't know. It's bothering me. It feels like there's something we should be seeing but haven't noticed yet. I don't know how else to describe it, but... You have to know what I'm talking about."

Deirdre nodded. "Yes, I fully understand... I still wonder what happened to Hannah Blocker though. She still hasn't been contacted, and that's a rather glaring issue. We need to hear her testimony, but she's managed to avoid Prosecutor Lin all this time. We won't be able to figure out everything about this case until she comes out of hiding," she said with a heavy frown. 

"Here's to hoping that we're able to drag her out of the shadows soon," I sighed. "After all, I feel like she's going to be the key to solving this case, and I don't know how much longer we can wait for her testimony."

Deirdre never got a chance to respond to me. Instead, she was cut off when Prosecutor Umber returned to the courtroom. Stayge was standing at his side, and I couldn't help but frown. I had to remind myself to look normal to make sure that they didn't catch on to what we had discovered. We weren't going to be finding the truth if they were on guard and prepared for any questions that we threw their way. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan said firmly to Stayge once they were behind the witness stand. 

"Stayge Crewe. I'm on the backstage crew," Stayge replied, crossing their arms. "What do you want to hear about?"

"Please tell the court what you were doing the night of the show," Prosecutor Lin replied, a smile on her face. "Don't leave out any details, alright?"

Stayge stared at her for a moment before shaking their head. "Are we really going back to this?" they asked. "I thought we were onto other subjects that were far more important."

"Just tell us about what you were doing that night," Prosecutor Umber told them bluntly, a frown slipping onto his face. "We know what we want, and it would be best if you listened to what we ask of you, okay?"

Stayge looked down, shaking their head. "Fine," they grumbled, their tone sour. "If that's really what you want, then I'll get on with it."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Time of the Crime ~**

_-"I was working to set up the show backstage. There are a lot of moving parts that go into it."_

_-"I saw Chrysalis and Saya leave the backstage area together, and they didn't seem happy with each other."_

_-"Afterwards, Chrysalis walked out of the bathroom, but Saya wasn't with her. Isn't that suspicious?"_

_-"There wasn't anything particularly off about her, so I didn't say anything. I had more important things to take care of."_

_-"My job was to make sure that all of the props were accounted for, so I did one final check for them all."_

_-"Everything was in the backstage area. There were no real issues from the time of the crime. See? There's absolutely nothing to worry about involving me."_

After the testimony, I looked over to Deirdre. It was clear that there were a million things wrong with this testimony, and that might have even been undershooting a little bit. The second we got the chance to talk about it, Stayge's words were going to be blown wide open. 

"Why didn't you mention any of this during the investigation?" Prosecutor Lin questioned, her eyes narrowed. "I recall talking to you about what you saw at the time of the crime, and none of this was ever brought up."

Stayge shrugged, the motion jerky and unfocused. "I was worried about what she would do to me if she found out I talked. You don't know what someone like her is capable of. She already killed Saya, you know," they muttered bitterly. 

"I definitely think Stayge is lying," I hissed to Deirdre. "In fact, it's so obvious that none of this is honest. There are so many different ways we could prove this as false, and from there, maybe we'll be able to get them mad. They could slip up when angered."

Deirdre nodded her agreement. "Yes, you're right... The defense is ready to begin the cross-examination," she declared, determination glinting in her eyes. 

Judge Diaphan nodded. "Of course. Witness, please repeat your testimony for the court," she said firmly. 

Stayge let out a sigh and shook their head, clearly not fond of the idea. Even so, they muttered a brief agreement before starting over from the beginning, unaware of what was coming to them. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Time of the Crime ~**

_-"I was working to set up the show backstage. There are a lot of moving parts that go into it."_

_-"I saw Chrysalis and Saya leave the backstage area together, and they didn't seem happy with each other."_

_-"Afterwards, Chrysalis walked out of the bathroom, but Saya wasn't with her. Isn't that suspicious?"_

_-"There wasn't anything particularly off about her, so I didn't say anything. I had more important things to take care of."_

_-"My job was to make sure that all of the props were accounted for, so I did one final check for them all."_

_-"Everything was in the backstage area. There were no real issues from the time of the crime. See? There's absolutely nothing to worry about involving me."_

"Objection!"

Deirdre was frowning heavily when she spoke up once again. "There are many issues with this testimony... First of all, you said that Chrysalis and Saya left the backstage area together, yes? Why would they walk together if they were clearly in the middle of an argument? Any backstage prep that they would have had to work on would not be in the region of the crime scene," she began. "Also, you were the only one to see all of this. That's rather peculiar as well... Then there's the matter of what you say happened when Chrysalis returned."

"Chrysalis would have come back covered in blood," I pointed out. "You didn't say anything about that though. There wasn't really any other point in time for her to be covered in blood before the show... In fact, it wouldn't be possible for her to come out of the bathroom at all. Medical analysis shows that Chrysalis got a concussion shortly before the show started, likely while she was in the bathroom. She couldn't have walked out of the bathroom if she was unconscious from the head injury she received."

"Finally, there's the matter of the props... You said that all of them were accounted for, but there are two issues with this. First of all, the prop transportation bag was used to move the body, so it would not have been backstage at this time. You would have noticed it was missing at some point," Deirdre went on. "From there, I need to bring up the issue of the knife. The prop knife in the backstage area was taken, and its handle was switched out with the knife that was brought in from the outside world to commit the crime with. The knife wasn't in the area at this time either."

Stayge was silent throughout all of this, not daring to meet anyone's eyes. They rocked back and forth on their feet as a way of passing the time, though I could tell that they were starting to panic. 

"If you ask me, this all points to one fact... You weren't backstage at the time of the crime at all. You were elsewhere, and you're saying all of this to distract from where you really were when the murder took place," Deirdre declared. 

"Where was the witness when the murder took place then?" Prosecutor Wood questioned. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she already knew exactly what we were going to say. 

Prosecutor Wood pulled up a map of the theater area and held it up for the court to see. Deirdre smirked to herself as she pointed in the general vicinity of the place in mind. "Right here... The set of bathrooms where the crime took place," she replied. "If the witness was in this area, then one key fact would make sense. All of the props would be held accountable through his perspective. After all, he would have had the prop bag on hand, ready to use it to transport the body. The knife would have been there as well, and he would have been prepared to switch out the handles as well."

"Witness, were you in the bathrooms at the time of the crime?" Judge Diaphan questioned, her gaze intense from behind her mask. 

Stayge shuffled nervously and hesitated before shaking their head. "You don't have any evidence that I was there. I thought the prop bag and knife were backstage when they weren't. I messed up. What about it?" they questioned. 

"The prop bag is too large to just miss," I pressed. "The container is more than large enough to hold a person. In fact, it did hold a person yesterday. After Satoki was attacked, he was shoved into the bag to keep him out of sight. That bag is simply too large to gloss over and miss. You must have known it wasn't in the backstage area."

"You're trying to say that this witness committed the crime then," commented Prosecutor Umber. He had a heavy frown on his face as he spoke. "If that's the case, then there are a few questions that still need to be answered."

I frowned at his words. Why was he doing this? It seemed like he was trying to get in our way, but that didn't make any sense. It was so clear that something was going on with this Stayge imposter, but he still didn't want to accept it! Hiding their identity was fishy enough, but we were only proving further that there was something wrong, and he didn't want to accept it!

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, still frowning heavily. "This witness is very clearly suspicious, and you can't exactly deny that."

"I have one question first of all... Why would the witness have wanted to kill the victim?" Prosecutor Umber questioned. "It makes no sense. There are no negative feelings between the two as far as we can tell."

As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point there. I didn't know why this imposter would want to go after Stayge in the slightest. There weren't any signs of hostility between them, and if there had been, someone certainly would have mentioned it by this point, so what was going on?

"Next, the victim was killed in the girls' bathroom," Prosecutor Umber went on. "Even if the witness was in this area, why would he go into the girls' restroom? After all, we've been under the impression this entire time that Stayge Crewe is a young man, and I doubt that he would want to go into the other restroom."

Deirdre closed her eyes in thought before a gasp left her lips. "I... I might have an explanation for that," she murmured. "The defense has an answer to the question posed by the prosecution."

"Then what is it?" Prosecutor Umber questioned, his eyes narrowing in impatience. "Don't hold back. We're all listening."

"Habit," Deirdre replied, a frown setting on her features. "I believe I've figured out the truth behind this case."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, looking up at her uncertainly. "Habit? I'm afraid you lost me here."

Deirdre perked up at my words. "I think that I've figured out who the imposter behind this version of Stayge Crewe is," she declared. "And I think I know the reason why they would want to go into the girls' restroom at the time of the crime."

"Imposter?" Stayge questioned, features suddenly alight with anger. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm Stayge! I always have been!"

"We found a phone conversation that says otherwise," Deirdre explained. "The chat log said that Stayge went out of town for a funeral. Satoki Amaya sent Stayge a text message asking how he has been holding up with all that's happened, but Stayge said that he hadn't been in town for days. A sudden family issue came up, and he was forced to leave at the last minute. He couldn't stay around for the show, according to the text messages, but that's rather suspicious... After all, you're still here."

"I'm the real Stayge. I don't know what you saw, but it can't be true," Stayge said, their eyes practically turning red with fury. "It must have just been a mistake."

"Hannah Blocker hasn't been contacted in ages, and I think I've finally figured out why," Deirdre went on. "I think that Hannah has been hiding under the name of Stayge while the real Stayge is out of town. It's been said that Stayge became far quieter around the time of the show starting, and I believe this is the reason why. The imposter didn't want anybody figuring out the truth behind who they really are. They've been lying from the very start of this murder to keep their real identity a secret."

"Then who are you saying that the imposter is?" Prosecutor Umber questioned sternly. "Quit dancing around the subject and tell us already!"

"Hannah Blocker," Deirdre declared. "Nobody's been able to contact her for quite some time, and it would make sense that Stayge would tell her that he couldn't participate in the show. After all, the two were working together on the backstage crew, and she would need to know how to adjust her work backstage in order for the show to be executed successfully."

"You think that I'm Hannah? That's ridiculous," Stayge told us sourly, glaring intensely at Deirdre. "Why would I want to pretend to be someone that I'm not?" Stayge's voice was slowly starting to get higher, and I got the feeling they weren't able to keep up the ruse with their increasing anger holding them back. 

"Because you're the culprit behind this case," Deirdre replied simply. "You didn't want anyone to know the truth of who you truly were, so you decided to hide behind the name of Stayge Crewe. It would take you out of the running as far as being a suspect is concerned. People wouldn't look to Hannah with suspicion since she wasn't around, and you were planning on framing Chrysalis anyways. You could use this as a chance to fly under the radar until the case had ended."

Stayge looked to her angrily for a moment longer before letting out a sigh. "You know what? Fine." Their voice had completely slipped away, now being much higher than it ever had been. Stayge reached up and curled their fingers around their hat, pulling it away from their face dramatically. They dropped the cap to the ground, and brown hair fell away from their head in a thick curtain. 

"You caught me," Stayge, or, more accurately, Hannah, declared. Her gaze was filled with enmity, but she still didn't seem to care that all eyes were on her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a container of gum before popping a piece in her mouth. She blew a large bubble before letting it pop, and she picked up her chewing a few seconds later. "I'm Hannah Blocker."

The gallery burst into chatter all around, and I looked to Deirdre with a grin. "Great deducing there, Deirdre! I know that it wasn't easy to figure that sort of thing out, but I'm really glad that you did. After all, we would have been in a lot of trouble if not for that information," I told her. 

"I wouldn't let up your guard yet," Deirdre told me sternly. "I know that it's not over. She's not going to be giving up that easily, especially since there are still a few holes in our case. We don't know why she would have wanted to kill Saya yet, and that's the one thing we need more than any piece of evidence."

Judge Diaphan slammed her gavel down before I had the chance to respond. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. We were going to need to find a motive if we wanted to have any chances of proving that Hannah was the culprit behind this murder. I didn't know how we were supposed to figure something like that out, but I prayed that we found an answer as soon as possible. 

"Order in the court!" Judge Diaphan declared. "Witness, the court demands an explanation at once! Why did you hide your identity as the other stagehand involved with the case?"

Hannah popped yet another bubble with her gum before offering a response. "It's rather simple, actually... It all has to do with reputation," she answered. "I was simply doing a nice thing for Stayge. He wants to go into producing professional theater, you know, and I didn't want his reputation to take a hit since he had to back out of this show at the last minute. I decided to dress up as him just to make sure that nobody got mad with him. I don't want to have a career in this field, so it wouldn't have mattered much if I pulled out suddenly."

"I don't think that's the truth at all," I muttered with a shake of my head. Still, I didn't have any evidence of such, so I stayed quiet and didn't openly object. 

"You still have to realize that this is a serious offense," Prosecutor Lin piped in. "It's a crime to impersonate somebody, especially in a court of law. You may claim to have had his best interests in mind, but that's not enough right now."

Hannah let out a sigh. "I know, I know... You don't have to lecture me about it when I already get it," she huffed. 

"If she really got it, then she wouldn't have lied in the first place," I commented to Deirdre. I turned my attention back to Hannah soon afterwards, frowning to myself. This certainly explained the shift in Stayge's personality, but there was still something I didn't get. Hannah hadn't wanted to be involved with the show at all, but I didn't think that was reason enough for her to go so far as to commit murder. If she didn't want to be involved, there were other solutions to pull out, but murder seemed a bit extreme. On top of that, there was this strange anger that she was hiding behind her eyes, and I couldn't help but wonder what the source was. 

"The defense has a request for testimony from the witness," Deirdre declared before anyone could speak up. "If the court doesn't mind, that is... The defense would like to hear about the witness' relationship with other people within the show."

"Of course," Judge Diaphan nodded. "Witness, you heard what the defense requested... And be honest this time. Lying can easily bear heavy consequences, and you don't want to have to face the punishment for such."

Hannah let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. I had a feeling we were going to be seeing a lot of that throughout the rest of the trial, and I knew that I was not looking forward to it in the slightest. "If that's really what you want, then fine," she muttered. "I don't know why you want to know about this, but I guess it won't hurt... Okay. I'll get started."

Even if Hannah didn't know what was going on, I had a pretty good idea of what Deirdre was shooting for. She was hoping to hear about if Hannah had any negative relationships with members of the cast. If that was the case, then we could potentially piece together a motive. All we knew was that the crime was premeditated since the knife was brought into the venue from the outside world, but that didn't really count for anything conclusive as far as finding a motive for Hannah. Hopefully, her testimony would be able to fix all of that. I didn't know what I'd do if that wasn't the case. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ My Relationships With the Cast ~**

_-"I didn't really talk to all that many members of the cast. I just didn't really see a need to bother."_

_-"I talked to Stayge every once in a while, and I thought he was cool enough. He never seemed to want to chat with me though. Shy kid."_

_-"I'm sure you really want to know about Saya, but there's nothing going on between us there. I didn't ever talk to her."_

_-"In fact, there's not really anything going on between me and any members of the cast. There were a few I liked, but they're not involved with this."_

_-"To be honest, I don't see why you're pestering me about this subject... It's so obvious that Chrysalis did it, so why don't you just lock her up?"_

I looked up to Deirdre, unable to hide my own frown. I was already nervous about how this was going to turn out, and I had a bad feeling that we weren't going to be able to figure out the truth. Her testimony really didn't give us anything to work off, and without a crucial clue that we were still missing, we couldn't connect her potential motive to anything that happened that night. Her hiding her identity was still fishy, but without a motive, what were we supposed to do with that information? There just had to be something that we were missing, but what the hell was it?

Deirdre didn't seem to share my concerns though. Instead, she looked up to Judge Diaphan sternly, determination shining in her eyes. "The defense is ready to begin the cross examination," she declared. 

"Go right ahead," Judge Diaphan responded with a simple nod. 

I nudged Deirdre in the side. "What are you talking about?" I questioned. "I didn't see anything of note in that testimony. All she was doing was saying that she didn't talk to anyone and that Chrysalis did it, but we know that's not true. There's nothing to latch onto."

"There's one thing that she keeps coming back to. It happened in her testimony earlier, and it's an issue this time around too. If you ask me, she gave us all the evidence that we need," Deirdre told me. She looked back up to Hannah and gestured for the girl to repeat her testimony. She rolled her eyes before following the direction, and I frowned to myself. What was going on in Deirdre's head?

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ My Relationships With the Cast ~**

_-"I didn't really talk to all that many members of the cast. I just didn't really see a need to bother."_

_-"I talked to Stayge every once in a while, and I thought he was cool enough. He never seemed to want to chat with me though. Shy kid."_

_-"I'm sure you really want to know about Saya, but there's nothing going on between us there. I didn't ever talk to her."_

_-"In fact, there's not really anything going on between me and any members of the cast. There were a few I liked, but they're not involved with this."_

_-"To be honest, I don't see why you're pestering me about this subject... It's so obvious that Chrysalis did it, so why don't you just lock her up?"_

"Hold it!"

"There's one thing I noticed about your testimony, witness," Deirdre said with a heavy frown. "You keep on coming back to the subject of Chrysalis. You claim that she committed this crime, but she couldn't have. After all, she was attacked during yesterday's investigation, and we still believe that there was one culprit who committed all of these crimes. On top of that, she was in the detention center at the time, locked up and unable to leave the building."

"Still, she's the one with the motive against Saya. Those two hated each other. All you need to do is ask someone in the show. They were always at each other's throats," Hannah answered, crossing her arms as she popped her gum once again. "Nobody else hated Saya the way Chrysalis did. Why would anyone else want her dead when Chrysalis was the only person who she regularly got into arguments with?"

"That's where my idea comes in," Deirdre answered. "I don't think that the culprit behind this case has a motive against Saya at all... I think the killer was originally meaning to go after another target."

"Another target?" Prosecutor Wood echoed, her eyes going wide. "I... I don't understand what you're talking about... Who was meant to die that night?"

"This witness has a grudge against the defendant. You can see this in the way that she continually brings up the defendant's name and insisting she committed the crime despite the evidence to the contrary. I believe that you have picked up on such a fact as well, yes?" Deirdre prompted, looking over to the prosecution with a tilt of her head. "I believe that the witness was originally planning on killing the defendant the night of the crime, but something got in her way. To be more specific, the victim got in her way, and plans shifted. That's why Chrysalis specifically was framed for the crime as well. Everything was specifically targeted at her, and it's because the culprit had a strong dislike for her."

Hannah stared at Deirdre for a moment before letting out a laugh. The noise was shrill, and it pierced my ears unpleasantly enough to elicit a cringe from me. "Really? You think that I have a grudge against Chrysalis?" she questioned. "I mean, we never liked each other, but that's not proof that I would want her dead!"

"It's funny that you say that given that you were using the same logic for the defendant committing the crime a short while ago," Prosecutor Lin pointed out. "Witness, the court would like to hear you testify about the full extent of your relationship with the defendant."

Hannah glared at her before rolling her eyes. "Alright... If that's what you want, then I'll give it a shot..." she grumbled unhappily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this update sure is cash money wouldn't you agree
> 
> -Digital


	19. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 9

**May 19**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**11:30 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ My Connection to Chrysalis ~**

_-"I don't see what the big deal is about my link to Chrysalis. What makes you so sure that I don't like her?"_

_-"I didn't talk to her much at all leading up to the performance. She didn't talk to many people in the first place."_

_-"It was because she was so quiet and seemingly standoffish that Saya came to hate her, as a matter of fact."_

_-"Her strained relationship with Saya was entirely her own fault, but there's nothing like that going on here."_

_-"You'd be ridiculous to think that we didn't get along because of something so inconsequential and ridiculous."_

_-"Besides, if you were going to say that we didn't get along, the least you could do is offer some proof, but I'm not seeing any."_

I looked over to Yuri as soon as Hannah was finished speaking. Yuri let out a sigh, a frown heavy on her features. "She didn't really tell us anything about her connection to Chrysalis... She denied that there are any problems between the two of them, but we know for sure that isn't true," she remarked. 

"I think that we're going to have to think about this critically if we're going to find the truth..." I murmured. "There has to be one critical thread to this that we're missing out on, and that might make everything come into place... Her having a motive against Chrysalis makes more sense given her clear animosity, but I don't know why she would hate her in the slightest."

"Hannah Blocker... Hannah Blocker and Chrysalis Starr... What's the connection here?" Yuri questioned, fiddling with a small segment of her hair. "There's got to be something that we aren't catching on to, but what is it?"

A gasp suddenly left my lips, and my eyes went wide before I had the chance to fully register such. "I think I've figured it out...!" I murmured. I couldn't believe that I had finally realized it, but I was sure that my sudden idea had to mean something. 

"Are you ready to begin the cross-examination?" Judge Diaphan questioned, looking over to where Yuri and I were talking to one another. I smirked to myself upon remembering that she was the judge on this case. That was going to make everything simpler for me, and my proof was only going to be easier to present. 

I nodded in response. "Yes," I confirmed. I was going to have to handle this cross-examination with a certain type of delicacy. After all, if the motive was what I was starting to believe it was, then it was a serious matter. We were going to have to be careful if we wanted to keep things from spiraling out of control. It was a matter of life and death, even more so than the rest of the case already had been. 

"Then go on and get started," Judge Diaphan declared, her expression solemn. She looked down to Hannah, who rolled her eyes and began recounting her testimony once more. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ My Connection to Chrysalis ~**

_-"I don't see what the big deal is about my link to Chrysalis. What makes you so sure that I don't like her?"_

_-"I didn't talk to her much at all leading up to the performance. She didn't talk to many people in the first place."_

_-"It was because she was so quiet and seemingly standoffish that Saya came to hate her, as a matter of fact."_

_-"Her strained relationship with Saya was entirely her own fault, but there's nothing like that going on here."_

_-"You'd be ridiculous to think that we didn't get along because of something so inconsequential and ridiculous."_

_-"Besides, if you were going to say that we didn't get along, the least you could do is offer some proof, but I'm not seeing any."_

"Objection!"

"The defense has a proposition regarding the enmity between the witness and the defendant," I announced. "Witness, please offer your full name to the court... While you're at it, please list off the names of your notable relatives."

Hannah looked at me in confusion at first before sighing and shaking her head with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Fine, I guess... I'm Hannah Blocker. My parents are Sally and Jackson Blocker."

"That's what I thought," I said firmly with a nod of determination. "Your father, Jackson Blocker... He was involved in a case a few years ago, was he not? If I recall correctly, he was a defense attorney who owned his own law firm."

Hannah glared at me, but I could sense some shock behind her gaze. "How did you hear all of that?" she questioned. "I don't recall saying anything about my father."

"You didn't, but I know about a case that took place a few years ago," I explained. "The case in question involved the murder of the witness' father."

"How are you aware of this?" questioned Prosecutor Umber, a particular fire to his gaze that I couldn't quite identify. 

"My agency was the one to take on the case when it moved to court," I replied. "I heard the story from my superior, one Cotoli Morix, who happened to be the defense attorney when the subject came to trial. He told me about it shortly after I came to work at the agency."

"What does my father's murder have anything to do with this?" Hannah asked. She was starting to chew her gum more obnoxiously than before, and sweat was beading along her forehead. Both were clear signs that I was certainly on the right track. 

"I think that you hate the defendant for her involvement in the case," I explained. This was the part I would have to handle delicately. After all, Chrysalis had been involved in the case as a witness, but that was only under one of her aliases. She had been working as Oracle at the time of the murder, and I couldn't let that information slip. If anyone got suspicious, who could say for sure what would be waiting for us next?

"Her involvement? What the hell are you talking about?" Hannah inquired, still glaring at me with the rage of a thousand suns. "She wasn't involved with the case in the slightest."

"She was working with Morix Law Offices at the time," I went on. "And the case ended with the culprit escaping from the courtroom. He wasn't caught for quite a while afterwards, and I can only imagine that you would be upset with her for and her brother for not working harder to catch the killer in the aftermath of their escape."

Hannah sighed angrily. "I really don't know what you're going on about," she told me, her voice overflowing with a sickening sense of poison. "I think you're just making all of this up to get me to say something I'll regret later on."

"I was the judge in charge of that case years ago," Judge Diaphan cut in, a frown on her face. "The culprit did indeed escape after they were exposed."

"The defense was the primary group responsible for learning the truth behind that case, so I imagine that you would be rather disappointed in them for not being able to bring the killer to justice in the aftermath of the trial," I continued. 

Hannah looked away from me, staring at the ground as she shook her head in frustration. "You're absolutely ridiculous, you know that? I don't think you know what you're talking about at all. You're using my father's murder to try and bother me, but it isn't going to work. The fact remains that Chrysalis was responsible for this crime. You're just defending her because you're in on all of this."

"All of this?" Yuri echoed, her eyes going wide. I felt myself growing nervous as well, and I prayed that Hannah didn't know anything she wasn't supposed to. I didn't want her to cross any lines that could later lead us down a path of disaster, though I already had a terrible feeling that this was the direction we were going in. 

Hannah nodded assertively. "Yes! That agency seemed to be just a bit too closely involved to the Oracle of the Law back then," she snapped. "Surely you must have noticed it! You work there, for crying out loud! You have to know that they're acting suspiciously!"

"You think that Morix Law is involved with the Oracle of the Law then," I said with a frown. "What makes you so sure of this?"

"I just told you, didn't I?!" Hannah shouted. "Don't you think it's a bit odd how they always seem to take on the cases involving Oracle?! You're just trying to cover your own tracks by pretending to not know anything!"

"Surely you don't know what you're asserting," Prosecutor Lin cut in, speaking up for the first time in a while. Her expression was uncharacteristically grim, and I knew exactly why without having to ask. "You think that Morix Law is involved with the Oracle... But there are a few holes in your logic."

I nodded my agreement. "As of the time of the Oracle rising to prominence, the defendant was fifteen years old," I pointed out. "I highly doubt that a girl that young would be capable of associating with a spy known for such suspicious activity. If you really think Morix Law is behind some of the Oracle's moves, then such only becomes stranger..."

"I know what you're talking about," Yuri chimed in. "At the time of your father's murder, then there were only four people working at the agency, and the only one who wasn't present at the trial regarding your father's death was Chrysalis. Once again, she was fifteen when Oracle became a notable figure in the area, so that sort of takes her out of the running for this."

"The rest of the people involved were twelve and seventeen respectively, excluding Cotoli Morix himself since he doesn't fit the Oracle's description in the slightest," Prosecutor Lin continued. "You think that the defendant is involved with this somehow, but that couldn't be possible."

Hannah had been oddly quiet throughout all of this, and she still didn't speak up after the conversation was over. "You've made your point. Whatever. You don't think that she's involved because of how young she is. I get it," she declared. "But that still doesn't help you in the long run. You haven't shown why I would have hated her enough to do something stupid."

"I believe that we have, actually," Prosecutor Wood said slowly, her voice shaking when she spoke up. 

"But you just proved that it would make no sense for her to be involved," Hannah muttered, rolling her eyes once more. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to keep spouting crap to try and pin me down as the culprit behind a crime I didn't commit?"

"Us having proven that Chrysalis wasn't involved with the case surrounding your father's death doesn't matter much in the scope of this case," I pointed out. I was relieved as could be that everyone was buying the ruse that Prosecutor Lin, Yuri, and I were setting up. Talking about Oracle in that sense could have caused problems, but we were able to cover for it with the excuse of Chrysalis' age. It was how Yuri, Lily, and I were fooled for as long as we were, and it was proving just as effective here. 

"All that matters is that it was what you believed at the time of the murder," Prosecutor Wood went on. "If you thought that she was involved with your father's death, then you would have hated her."

"You either thought her agency was responsible for letting the culprit get away or that they were involved with Oracle, neither of which can truly be pinned on them at the end of the day," I continued. "She was the easiest person for you to reach, so you could have decided to exact your revenge against the agency by framing her for this crime."

"Of course, it wasn't always going to be a matter of framing Chrysalis for murder," Prosecutor Lin murmured. "We realized such earlier on in the trial. The culprit had another target but eventually shifted their focus towards Saya after an unexpected even threw a wrench in their plans."

"You still don't have evidence that I was the one to do all of this," Hannah said, popping her gum once again. The sound echoed, and I did my best to keep from flinching at the sheer volume of the noise. I was certainly looking forward to the trial ending just for the sake of being able to get away from that aggravating sound. 

"You're referring to Saya in this case, aren't you?" Prosecutor Lin questioned, frowning heavily. "You mean to say that we don't have a reason for you to have lashed out at Saya at the time of the crime, and without something like that, we can't say conclusively that you did anything related to the murder."

"I already told you why I hid my identity. I wanted to help Styage's reputation since he had to pull out of the show at the last minute," Hannah insisted. "It was completely unrelated to the murder, and there's nothing you can say or do to prove otherwise."

"There has to be something else that we're missing out on here," Yuri hissed to me. "I mean, we have a reason for Hannah to have lashed out at Chrysalis, but that still doesn't help us in the slightest when it comes to Saya's death. If Chrysalis had been the original victim, then everything would have already been figured out, but Saya is a different story... We've got no reason to believe that Hannah and Saya didn't get along."

"Hannah didn't even want to be involved with the show in the first place. I doubt she would have wanted to associate with Saya when she already hated the idea of being part of the crew," I said under my breath. "There has to be one critical thing that ties them together from the time of the murder, but what could it be?"

"We know that Hannah went into the girls' restroom just before the show started. It was the same room where the crime took place too," Yuri murmured. "Still, even if she ran into Saya there, I doubt she would have just attacked her. Hannah could have just explained the misunderstanding to Saya and called it there. The truth about the identity swap would have been far easier to deal with than the consequences of a murder."

"That is true... What would have been key enough to cause an argument between the witness and victim?" I thought aloud, looking down at the bench in front of me as if it would offer me with the answers I required. I really didn't know where to go next, but I was going to have to figure it out as soon as possible. There was only so much time we had before others started to get suspicious that we didn't have a plan, and our credibility would fall through immediately if that happened. 

"There's one thing that we know about Saya, I suppose," Yuri remarked. "Think about what we know regarding her connection to Chrysalis. Chrysalis didn't openly talk to her, but the two wound up having a strained relationship anyways. I think Satoki and Shane told us that it was because Chrysalis was so quiet. Saya expected people to openly praise her talent, and she took Chrysalis' silence as a threat."

I nodded at her words. "That is true... Maybe she thought of Chrysalis' quiet nature as an affront," I agreed. "That means that she's prone to jumping to conclusions. Is there anything that would have made her jump to an extreme conclusion that could cause problems for Hannah?"

"Let's think about all of the stuff that was in the bathroom at the time," Yuri suggested. "We know that there was the soap container in there at the time, and the bag was moved into the bathroom at some point too. The same applies to the prop knife since the handles were switched around to frame Chrysalis... Aside from that, I think it was just the knife and the body itself."

A gasp left my lips. "That is!" I whispered. "I think I've figured out what happened at the time of the crime!"

"Then tell everybody!" Yuri told me with a wide grin. "I'm ready to hear what you have to say on the matter!"

I turned my attention to the rest of the courtroom, and a smirk appeared on my lips. "I believe I've figured out the motive behind this crime," I announced. 

"What motive?" Hannah questioned. She smacked her lips together before her gum popped once again, and she went right back to chewing a few seconds later. 

"I think that there was a premeditated crime, but it wasn't the murder," I explained. "We know that the culprit brought the knife in from the outside world, and that's something incredibly dangerous that you wouldn't expect to see the night of a performance like this. If you ask me, the knife was what caused the murder."

"How did the knife cause the murder?" Judge Diaphan questioned, her gaze curious from behind her mask. 

"The victim saw the culprit in the restroom with the knife and grew suspicious. The two began to argue, and Saya jumped to conclusions about what the knife meant, likely thinking that it stood for something dangerous. If something bad happened involving the knife and someone got hurt, the show would have been canceled. She walked in at the wrong time, and it cost her everything," I went on. "She witnessed the killer with the knife inside the bathroom, but before she could tell anyone else, she was murdered."

"In other words, this crime was improvised," murmured Prosecutor Lin. "What do you think happened next?"

"We know that the defendant was attacked as well. She received a concussion around the time of the crime, so chances are that she was hit on the back of the head with the metal soap container in the restroom as soon as the culprit noticed she was present. The defendant fell unconscious, and when she did, the killer smeared the victim's blood on her clothing. The original plan had likely been to kill Chrysalis for her involvement in the case surrounding Jackson Blocker's murder, but that all fell apart when Saya walked in on the killer examining the knife, and the killer decided to frame her for the crime instead," I continued. 

"From there, the culprit grabbed the prop bag and rolled it to the bathroom area. They also retrieved the prop knife and switched out the handles with hopes of making it look as if the defendant committed the crime," Prosecutor Lin said next. "The prop bag was used to move the body from the bathroom to the backstage area without arousing any suspicion. People knew that it could be used to move objects around the theater, and they wouldn't have asked about it since it was supposed to be there."

"Of course, a lot of blood got on the bottom of the bag when this happened," I declared. "The entire bottom of the bag was covered in blood, but the killer couldn't risk having anybody see that. They placed down a fabric lining across the bottom segment of the bag, using a gray fabric that would blend in well with the black color of the rest of the bag."

"I think I remember seeing more of that fabric backstage," Prosecutor Wood commented. "I bet that it's used to cover up stuff backstage... There have to be a few props that require being hidden until they are to be used."

I nodded my agreement. "Chances are you're right. One piece of fabric was taken from its original spot and used to line the bottom of the bag. The killer placed the body on the stage platform that would be lowered at the time of the show's start. From there, they returned to the restroom to pick up Chrysalis, not realizing until later that she was bleeding slightly from her injury, getting a small amount of red on the fabric."

"During this period of time, nobody would have seen Chrysalis or Saya," Yuri remarked. "But if they were really gone, that could have caused problems, and the killer's plan to make Chrysalis seem guilty wouldn't have worked out. They started rumors about how they were fine and circulated them among the cast to keep anyone from getting too suspicious, and the cast members went along with it since they believed the information to be reliable. There wasn't a reason to ask if they thought everything was going to be fine, after all."

"Exactly," I confirmed. "Saya was moved to the stage platform while Chrysalis was kept in the bag until closer to showtime. When she was removed, she was already covered in blood and still unconscious from the blow to her head. By the time she woke up, the blood had mostly dried off, and it was too dark backstage for anyone to see that she was covered in it. She was pushed out onto the stage for the show to properly begin, and the audience saw her and the body. She was covered in the victim's blood, arousing enough suspicion from both the audience and cast members that she was the culprit."

"Of course, Chrysalis couldn't have done this since she was unconscious at the time," Yuri went on. "She was hit on the back of the head hard enough to make her lose consciousness, and there wouldn't have been a way for her to pull all of this off since she was asleep. It wouldn't have worked in the slightest."

"Since she didn't have an alibi, the investigators didn't know that at the time. There was no medical analysis done of the defendant, and everyone thought that she was simply suffering from a migraine rather than the aftermath of the concussion," Prosecutor Lin commented. "We didn't look back on all of that until well after the attack had taken place... It wasn't until after she was stabbed in the back that we realized all of this was the case, and the pieces started to fall into place."

"Speaking of the stabbing, there is one thing I'm curious about," Judge Diaphan declared, turning her gaze towards Hannah critically. "When she was attacked, there was a surname written in blood... If I recall correctly, witness, that name just so happens to be yours. What do you have to say on the matter?"

Hannah froze as soon as it was brought up. She shook her head and went back to chewing after a moment of hesitation. "I really don't know what you're talking about... I wasn't there at all. How would somebody like me have gotten into the detention center in the first place? I'm not exactly related to the police or prosecution, so I couldn't have just snuck back there to stick a knife in her shoulder," she commented with a shrug. 

"The fact remains that your name was written in her blood. She wrote it out herself, and we have proof of such," Prosecutor Lin told her. She nudged gently at Prosecutor Wood, prompting the younger girl to bring up such evidence. 

It took a moment for Prosecutor Wood to respond, but she eventually did get into her explanation. "Yeah... We do know for sure that the victim was the one to write it," she went on. "You see, the defendant is dominant in her right hand, but she was stabbed on that side, so she would have had to write using her left hand. The writing was shaky and unstable, proof that she must have done it."

"I still don't know how that's proof that she was the one to write it," Hannah commented with a heavy frown. "Anybody could have written something like that. It would be hard for someone to write with another person's bloodied hand, wouldn't you say?"

"It would be, but you have to remember that it would have most certainly been easier than doing it yourself," Prosecutor Lin told her with a frown. "If you were controlling someone else's hand, you'd have much more ease in pulling something like that off than doing it yourself. The writing is shaky and barely legible as it is, so I can't imagine that the culprit did it. Besides, if the culprit did it, you would expect to see signs of a struggle, and yet, there are none. She did it on her own."

"Her writing the name in blood most certainly makes it seem as if the witness was responsible for such," Judge Diaphan murmured. "But there is still one primary problem with this explanation."

"How did I get into the detention center in the first place?" Hannah questioned, her gaze a fiery glare. "It's not like regular people can just walk on in there and do whatever they want. I would have only been allowed to go to the visiting area if I went to the detention center, and you're trying to say that I found a way to sneak in past the guards and attack somebody with a knife? I think you're going a bit far."

"There is one other factor that does point to you being responsible for this though," I cut in. "Think about it, everyone. The witness is known to have a heavy grudge against the defendant. We've already gone over such. She doesn't like the defendant in the slightest, and if my explanation is to be believed, she was originally planning on killing my client and framing someone else for the crime. Even if she was able to finger Chrysalis as the culprit for this case, there is one issue with this..."

"We were making enough progress yesterday during the trial to be a threat to her plans," Yuri murmured. "There was the plan that she was going to escape the detention center without any issues, and if that was the case, then she would have lost her chance at revenge. We were getting too close to figuring out who the true killer was, and it was a threat to her plans."

"She's already shown herself capable of hiding her identity by behaving as someone else," Prosecutor Lin commented, looking over to Prosecutor Umber for confirmation. He didn't meet her gaze. "Who can say for sure that she didn't find a way to steal one of the uniforms belonging to the guards? There are spares located within the detention center and prison complex, you see. She could have grabbed one when nobody was looking and then snuck in to take care of everything."

"The defendant could have figured out who was behind it then, and that was when she wrote the culprit's name in blood," I realized with a small nod. This was certainly starting to make sense, and all of the pieces of the second day's puzzle were starting to slip into place. We were getting a much better view of the greater image now. 

"You're all being ridiculous," Hannah huffed, though I could clearly see the signs of stress seeping into her features. "I think that this is just you going off on a random tangent. I wasn't there at the time. You would have noticed if I was at the detention center. After all, as far as I can tell, people were looking for me throughout the investigation."

"You were able to sneak around without being detected rather easily for a while," I pointed out. "You weren't seen at all on the second day of investigation, as a matter of fact. It isn't too farfetched to say that you were at the detention center for at least part of the investigation session."

Hannah frowned and glared at me angrily. "I don't know what the hell your problem is! I didn't commit this crime, and you're being absolutely ridiculous if you think I would go that far over something stupid and petty," she sighed. 

"But this wasn't something stupid and petty to you," Prosecutor Wood interjected shakily. "You thought that the defendant was involved with the murder of your father where the culprit got away... Even if the killer was later caught, it was still enough to push you over the edge. You wanted revenge."

"You don't have any proof that I did this in the first place! Quit pointing fingers already! Chrysalis must have attacked Saya and made herself look innocent with the knife to the shoulder!" Hannah shrieked, her distress clearly growing. 

"She wouldn't have had access to a knife in the detention center, and even if she did, why would she attack her right shoulder? That's her dominant side, and it would make more sense for her to hold the knife in her right hand and jab at her left one," I pointed out. "This train of thought isn't going to be taking us anywhere. We know that you were involved with this crime, so stop denying it!"

"I believe I know what we should do next," Judge Diaphan announced, earning the attention of everyone in the courtroom. "Defense, prosecution... Please construct a timeline of what you believe happened during yesterday's investigation."

I hesitated for a moment before realizing that this was likely exactly what we needed. We could use this to prove that Hannah was involved in the case while finishing off our summary of the case in the process! 

I looked over to Yuri and saw that she had come to the same conclusion. I looked across the courtroom to the prosecution and met eyes with both Prosecutor Lin and Prosecutor Wood. They seemed to think the same thing, though Prosecutor Umber was still silent. 

"We'll get right to it, Your Honor," I announced with a grand smile. Finally, we were going to end this nightmare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new Digimon music is high key amazing
> 
> -Digital


	20. The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 10

**May 19**

**Courtroom No. 3**

**12:30 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

"Following yesterday's session of the trial, there was unfortunately severe traffic that kept us from arriving at the crime scene in a timely manner," I began, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "The culprit wasn't aware of something like this, but they were more than happy to take advantage of it."

"Shane and Satoki were able to get out of the courthouse and head over to the scene of the crime early, so they were there for a while already by the time that we arrived," Yuri piped in next. "And I bet that everything started while we were still gone."

"Satoki was the first one to be attacked, and after he was hit on the head by the weapon involved with the assaults, he was shoved in the prop bag," I went on. "The weapon was used to keep large props upright. For example, it would keep a facade from falling over after it was placed on the stage. It would have easily been heavy enough to knock someone unconscious if they were hit in the wrong way."

"Why was he hit at all?" Prosecutor Umber questioned, his eyes narrowing in our direction. "Surely you must have figured that much out if you've been thinking about this subject so extensively, yes?"

"I think it has something to do with the phone that was found near him," I answered. "It was facedown on the ground, and since the case is black, it would have blended in with the shadows of the area rather well. The screen was facing the ground, but the device was still on, showing the text conversation we brought up earlier."

"And you think the text conversation was the motive behind this," Prosecutor Lin smirked. "Of course, that would only apply to one person, and that single person just so happens to be our witness... How do you respond, Ms. Blocker?"

I turned my attention to Hannah at her words, and I saw that she was chewing on her gum once again. She was pretending to ignore us, though I got the feeling that she was listening a lot closer than she was letting on. 

"The chat log on the screen was between Satoki and Stayge. The real Stayge was the one texted, and Satoki learned that the Stayge that has been involved with this case was not the real one. This should not have merited such a sudden and violent attack, and yet, that's what happened," I continued. "If Hannah truly disguised her identity with good intentions for the sake of her companion, then she would have simply explained the reason behind the swap to Satoki. There wouldn't have been a reason for attacking him at all. Even if her true identity was exposed, it would have been a better alternative to lashing out and getting someone hurt."

"Unless the secret was key to making it seem as if someone else was responsible for the crime," Yuri murmured with a nod. "She lashed out at Satoki upon realizing that he knew the truth, and that was where everything started."

"Satoki and Shane have always been rather close as far as we can tell. Throughout this entire investigation, they've spent much of their time together, and I find it rather hard to believe that they wouldn't stay side by side while looking around the crime scene," I remarked. "I get the feeling that this fact is how Shane was attacked."

"Please explain," Judge Diaphan instructed, her gaze inquisitive as her eyes fell upon me and Yuri. 

"If the two of them were together when Satoki found out the truth about Stayge, then there would have been a reason for the culprit to go after Shane too," Yuri explained. "They would have wanted to make sure that he didn't tell the truth either, and chances are that he saw the attack on Satoki as well. There were too many balls up in the air, and taking Shane out of the picture would have been a priority."

"In short, Satoki was attacked after he learned the truth behind the real Stayge not being present. Shane was with him at the time, and Shane likely took off to find help or otherwise escape the culprit," I declared firmly. "Satoki's phone fell facedown when he was attacked, and the culprit likely mistook it for being broken. Without any evidence, he wouldn't be able to reveal the truth to anyone. The culprit didn't want Satoki and Shane to open up about Stayge not being present, so they attacked both of them."

"Satoki was likely placed in the bag as a way of stalling for time," Prosecutor Lin commented. "You guys were going to be heading backstage to look at the bag directly, and when you did, you would have been too distracted by that to bother looking around much further."

"Shane probably fled further into the backstage area where he was found unconscious," I suggested. "He was likely hoping to either find help or hide from the culprit when he was attacked while trying to escape. I imagine that this was around the time that we arrived at the scene of the crime."

"Mr. Morix said he was going to find help for Satoki after we split up, and that's likely when he was tracked down and attacked too," Yuri murmured. "It would make sense. He could have seen the culprit messing around with Shane after he was knocked out and not doing anything to help. On top of that, he was involved with the case surrounding Jackson Blocker's murder, and we're already positive that had something to do with the motive. The culprit wasn't going to let him get away since all of those facts aligned so perfectly."

"Satoki was attacked first after learning that the real Stayge hadn't been at the crime scene throughout the entire case. He dropped his phone, and the culprit assumed that it had been broken. They shoved him into the prop bag to stall for time before going after Shane. Once he was unconscious, they didn't get away in time, and Mr. Morix found them while looking for the detectives involved with the case. He was struck down from there," I announced. "That's the sequence of events from the time of the investigation yesterday."

"There's only one further loose end to wrap up then," Prosecutor Lin murmured. "And that would be the attack on the defendant that took place after the three attacks at the crime scene."

Prosecutor Wood nodded. "Yeah... She was found unconscious in her cell after passing out from shock due to the wound in her shoulder. She's expected to make a full recovery, but it was still a crime done maliciously," she commented. Upon realizing that all eyes were on her, she stared down at the ground and shook her head. "U-Um... How about you go on and explain that now?"

"Of course," I replied. "There were drops of blood found on the defendant's bed, and I imagine that the knife was positioned there. This would have been a perfect way for the culprit to commit the crime while still maintaining an alibi. If they placed the knife there and then left, the stabbing would have taken place while they were elsewhere."

"How did the culprit manage to get the knife into that specific spot though?" Prosecutor Umber questioned, his gaze stern and heavy. "Sneaking into the detention center is not an easy thing to do. You believe that the culprit is a teenager who lashed out due to anger regarding the murder of her father. I find it somewhat hard to believe that someone so young would have been able to sneak into the detention center without issue."

"We mentioned the possibility of a uniform being stolen already," Prosecutor Lin pointed out. "Think about it this way: she could have taken a uniform and put it on to appear as if she was a guard. It wouldn't be the first time she pretended to be someone she's not like we've already discussed. She could have placed the knife in the defendant's holding cell and waited for something to happen."

"Her name was written in blood, so the defendant knew that she was responsible for this incident," Yuri remarked, cupping her chin in one hand. "Maybe the two of them brushed past each other while our client was returning to the cell. She would have suspected something was up and realized what had happened after the knife wound up in her shoulder."

"The culprit was realizing that their grip on the case was slipping. The truth was getting closer to coming out, and if it did, they wouldn't be able to fully exact their revenge against the defendant. It was their way of securing that their twisted sense of justice was served," I announced. "In the end, their anger towards our client made them sloppy, and the truth was finally brought to light."

"And the person who did this..." Yuri started, her eyes narrowing in determination as she turned towards the witness stand. 

"It was you, Hannah Blocker!" I announced, pointing towards her firmly. 

Hannah didn't react at first, instead standing still as a statue. She started to chew on her gum rapidly, somehow even faster than before, and a bubble began to form in front of her face. It was getting larger as the seconds went by, but eventually, it grew to be too much, and the bubble completely popped. Pieces of gum were sent in every direction, covering her torso in the blink of an eye. An angered roar tore free from her lips as she slammed her hands onto the witness stand. "You... You don't know who you're dealing with!" she screamed angrily. She sounded more animal than human as she continued to shriek in upset. "She deserved everything that came to her!"

"Your plan originally was to kill the defendant when you started wanting revenge, but that fell through in the end," Prosecutor Lin frowned. "As soon as you realized things weren't turning out how you were planning, you decided that you were going to finish the job anyways... And that was when everything began to fall apart."

"You wanted to go after Chrysalis for her agency's involvement with the Jackson Blocker case, and you lost yourself to revenge," Yuri murmured. "That's not a healthy way to deal with grief in the slightest. I've lost family members in the past as well, but this isn't the right way to cope with that. Murder isn't the answer in situations like this. I'm sorry it had to end this way."

"It's all her fault!" Hannah screamed angrily. "She has to be involved with Oracle somehow! I don't give a damn about how young she is! She must have done something to cause the death of my father, and I'm going to figure out what it is!"

"She was fifteen when Oracle rose to prominence," I reminded her gently. "She couldn't have been tied up in something like that at such a young age. You lost your grip on reality when you began accusing her, and now, you don't know how to get it back."

"Please escort the witness from the courtroom," Judge Diaphan declared with a shake of her head. "We've heard what we needed to hear. The witness has confessed, and with that said and done, I believe that we can call this trial completed officially."

A pair of bailiffs appeared at the witness stand, and I watched in solemn silence as they handcuffed Hannah and led her away from the stand. She didn't stop tossing around vicious phrases as she was moved towards the doors of the courtroom, and all I could do was keep staring. All of this had truly come together to form an unsettling picture, and I didn't know what else to do about it. 

The doors shut behind Hannah as she completely disappeared from view, and I let out a small sigh before turning my attention back up to Judge Diaphan. She had picked up her gavel, and she was looking over the courtroom with a heavy frown. "It appears that we've found the truth behind this case at long last," she announced. "We can now proceed onto the verdict. It's a shame that the defendant couldn't be here to listen to such an announcement."

"I'll be more than happy to pass on the message," Prosecutor Lin replied. "And I'm sure that the defense will feel the same way on the matter, yes?"

I nodded. "Of course. We'll be dropping by the hospital to visit her at once after the verdict is handed down," I confirmed. 

"I see," Judge Diaphan said. "In that case, I believe I had best get on with it. Are there any objections from the defense or prosecution regarding the end of this case?"

I shook my head. "The defense has no objections," I assured her. 

Prosecutor Lin glanced to both of her coworkers before shifting her focus back up to Judge Diaphan. "The prosecution has no objections either," she replied, though I got the feeling she was still watching Prosecutor Umber out of the corner of her eye. There was a suspicious glaze in her eyes, but I wasn't entirely sure what she was thinking about regarding him. 

"Understood," Judge Diaphan declared. She reached for her gavel and lifted it. "In that case, this court hereby finds the defendant, Chrysalis Starr, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" The gavel slammed down a moment longer, and I smiled at the sound. Finally, everything was over. It was about time, to say the least. 

**May 19**

**Defendant Lobby No. 3**

**1:00 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

After the trial had finished and we had packed up, Yuri and I made our way out into the defendant lobby. We were met with the faces of Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Neptune Mercure once we were in the room, and all of them were smiling brightly. I have to admit, I didn't expect the two of them to come and watch the trial, but I wasn't complaining in the slightest that they were there. 

"Hey, you two!" Yuri exclaimed, her face set in a wide grin. "I'm so glad that's all over at long last!"

"That was certainly an adventurous case," Neptune remarked with a small chuckle. "Imagine that... Thinking that a teenager was involved with Oracle? I understand that the culprit had sort of come apart by that point, but it's still an odd thing to think about. I would have expected it to be clear that Chrysalis wasn't involved on that front." She was doing a rather good job of pretending she knew nothing while understanding the case completely. 

"All that matters is that she believed it at the time... And because she did, she was planning on resorting to murder," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke frowned, shaking his head. "I'm glad that it didn't end the way she had been intending though. That wouldn't have been good at all." There was an extra dimension to his words that he refused to elaborate on, but I fully understood what he meant. 

"I'm not looking forward to having to explain all of that to Chrysalis," Neptune admitted with a small yet nervous smile. Her hands fiddled with one another relentlessly. "We have to go and see how she and Cotoli are doing in the hospital. I'm sure that they're going to want to hear about the verdict. You know, assuming they're even up and moving about by now... I hope they're awake by now. It has been a while since the culprit first lashed out at them, after all..."

"We should go and see how they're feeling," Yuri agreed. "I know that they want to hear about the outcome of the trial since they couldn't be here, and I'm tired of being here anyways. Hannah's attitude is far more exhausting than it has any right to be."

"For now, let's make our way out of here," Neptune suggested, placing her hands on her hips. "I've had more than enough of this place, and I want to go and see Chrysalis. I can meet you guys there. I... I brought a few friends along to watch this trial."

Neptune was walking away before I even realized what she meant, and I could see Clarith Blake and X standing together nearby. Ms. Blake shot us a shy wave before walking away with Neptune. X didn't seem all that alert, and I wondered if he had wanted to come to the trial in the first place. If he didn't want to be there, he was covering such up rather well. The two of them launched into conversation immediately, and Neptune's prior bright smile disappeared. I couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing, but I got the feeling they weren't going to be telling me no matter how many times I asked.

Before Yuri, Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, and I had the chance to leave the area, Prosecutor Lin appeared with Prosecutor Wood at her side. "Hey there, everyone," Prosecutor Lin smiled. She walked over to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "It's good to see that you're still here. I was hoping to get the chance to say bye to you before you headed out."

"Hey, Prosecutor Lin," Yuri grinned. "How are you doing?"

Prosecutor Lin shrugged, placing one hand at the back of her neck. "As good as I can be given the circumstances... I really wanted to be able to hang out at the hospital with Chrysalis and Cotoli... I'm sure that you know the whole story behind Pieter, so the idea of siblings getting hurt is a bit of a touchy subject in our family," she admitted. "Of course, I'm glad that I came here to make sure that nothing went downhill, but... I suppose I didn't really have a choice."

"You didn't have a choice?" I echoed with a frown. "What are you trying to say with that?"

Prosecutor Wood replied with a frown stitched into her features. "It's Prosecutor Umber... I don't know if you noticed, but he seems to have this strange anger with your agency. He's been upset whenever you all are brought up," she explained. "It's a bit hard to explain, but... Even if he knew that Chrysalis was innocent, I don't know if he would have fully allowed this case to go the way that it did without our interference."

"Why would Prosecutor Umber have a grudge against the agency?" Yuri questioned. "That doesn't make any sense. We've only seen him once before this case, and that was when we were solving the murder of his mother. I don't know why he would be upset with us for what happened then. We were helping him then."

"It doesn't make much sense to us either, but regardless, the point is that he doesn't like your agency, and it's a problem," Prosecutor Lin shrugged. "It's complicated, but you know what I mean. I wish I could have been with Cotoli and Chrysalis today, but I'm happy that I was able to keep them from getting into any further trouble."

"If Chrysalis was convicted for the crime, Mr. Morix would have gone a bit crazy trying to get her out of the detention center," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke murmured. "That's just the way that he is. It's for the best that you were able to keep him from getting obsessive over something like that. Prosecutor Umber being here alone would have only complicated things further."

"Still, now that the trial is over, we're going to see the two of them," Prosecutor Lin told us with a firm nod. "I want to go and see how they're doing. It's been really bugging me that I haven't heard about how they've been feeling."

"The rest of the agency is there with them," Yuri reminded me. "It's going to be a bit crowded, but I suppose I would prefer that to the alternative of them being lonely all this time, huh?"

I nodded. "Yes, that is true... Anyways, let's go on and see them," I said, moving towards the door. I saw Chief Prosecutor Bespoke throw an arm around Prosecutor Wood's shoulders as I passed by, and I couldn't help but smile as he did so. 

I allowed the rest of the group to pass through the door with a small smile, but they weren't the only ones to pass by me along the way. Someone collided with my shoulder, and I looked up at them with a frown. 

It was a man, one taller than me by a handful of inches. I could only see half of his face due to his hair falling over one of his eyes, and part of me thought the hair looked oddly artificial, almost as if he was wearing a wig. I couldn't say for sure, but it certainly bothered me right off the bat. 

The other thing to bother me was that he seemed oddly familiar. I felt like I had seen his face somewhere before, but I wasn't sure where I could have come across him. I looked up at him in confusion, and his gaze met mine a short few seconds later. 

"You were on the defense team," the man said breathlessly. "I... I must thank you for everything that you did in the courtroom. I owe you all of my gratitude."

I shook my head. "Don't worry yourself in the slightest. I was more than happy to take care of the case," I assured him. "Who might you be? Do you have a connection to the case?"

The man hesitated before shaking his head. "Not... Not exactly... I came out of curiosity... I wish your agency the best. I pray that nothing happens to you or anyone you work with in the future." A kind smile spread across his features. "I'm sorry I could not speak with you longer, but I'm afraid I must take my leave of you now. Have a nice day."

The man waved to me before heading through the door, and I watched him go with a stunned expression. I still didn't know where I could have seen his face before, and no matter how much I tried to comb through my memories, I couldn't figure out where I could have come across someone like that. It didn't make sense to me in the slightest. It was as if the image was on the tip of my tongue, but I still couldn't reach out and grab it no matter how hard I tried. 

I didn't realize how long I had been standing there in shocked silence until Yuri's fingers curled around my wrist. She tugged on my arm lightly. "Are you okay? You've been standing there for way too long," she whispered. "Prosecutor Lin already left with the others. I got worried when you didn't come out with me."

Yuri's grasp startled me out of my daze, and I nodded to her. "Of course," I assured her. "Let's go and see what's going on with the rest of the agency." I followed after her, though there were a few feet between us as we navigated through the courthouse in complete silence. 

There was a lot bothering me about this trial all of a sudden. First off, there was the matter of Neptune showing up. I didn't expect her of all people to come and watch the trial. She and Chrysalis had been friends for a few years ever since Neptune first entered our lives two years prior, but it was still strange to me that Neptune would come. Bringing along Ms. Blake and X only added another sense of weirdness to the situation. I didn't expect her to be in the courtroom rather than at the hospital with Chrysalis, and I certainly didn't see it coming for her to drag the other two along with her too. Maybe I was overthinking things, but there was something oddly uncanny about her behavior. 

Neptune had always been an odd character, though I suppose that's still a bit of an understatement. She's a strange person by nature, always watching from a distance with oddly scrutinizing eyes. I couldn't put a finger on it, but something about her was starting to bother me. I hadn't seen her show up at a trial since the last time Chrysalis was arrested, and Neptune shouldn't have even known about that incident. She was already acquainted with Ms. Blake and X by that point as well, though I didn't have the slightest clue how that could have happened. She and X worked together once, but I didn't think that quite equated to being close enough friends for something like this. 

I shoved Neptune out of my mind as the strange man entered my thoughts once again. Much like Neptune, he existed in a space of my brain that I couldn't describe in the slightest. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't quite put a finger on it. Where had I seen that face of his before? He had claimed to not be involved with this case, but I couldn't help but feel as if that was a lie somehow. I wasn't sure of why he would want to lie about that, but he must have had a reason. That reason was important enough for him to keep the truth from me. His gratitude had seemed genuine, but what would that mean? I would have expected to have heard about him if he was involved somehow with this case. That sort of appearance is rather distinctive between his height and odd hairstyle. 

Either way, I wasn't going to be able to answer my questions about Neptune and the strange man until after I had finished my business at the hospital. The rest of the group was waiting for me, and I didn't want to keep them waiting any longer than I had to. It was certainly something I was going to have to try and look into when I got the chance. I doubted I was going to make any great progress as long as I was working alone. Neptune covered her tracks far too well with her deceptively bright facade, and I didn't even know the man's name. It wasn't going to be easy to deal with, but I was determined to learn at least something about them. 

I didn't realize that I had arrived at the car until Yuri poked at my arm for me to unlock the doors. I nodded and fished my keys from my purse before pressing the appropriate button on the fob. No matter how much I attempted to shove everything regarding Neptune and the strange man out of my mind, it didn't work. I was certainly going to have to figure this out somehow, but where the hell could I even start in a situation like this? What was Neptune's gambit? Why had she come to the trial? And, most importantly, who was that strange man?

**May 19**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Time**

**Unknown Perspective**

It was easy to see that I was in a sour mood when I arrived back at the end of the day. A headache rattled mercilessly behind my eyes, and I couldn't stop glaring at my surroundings as I flopped into my chair. The legs rattled under the sudden weight, but I didn't react to such in the slightest. 

My arrival earned me the attention of the man and woman in the area, and both of them looked to me with curious eyes. "Headache," I explained softly, knowing that they were fully aware of the chaos behind my stress. 

"It's all about that agency, isn't it?" the man questioned, sourness seeping into his words. "They've always been involved with unfortunate matters, and it seems that this case is no exception. How tragic."

The woman shook her head. "The motive behind this case is certainly worrisome... The killer was truly convinced that the child was Oracle somehow," she murmured. "The prosecutor was far too willing to jump onto the explanation of her being too young, and it's rather suspicious. Besides, we're too smart to be fooled by something like that."

"If you think about it, this is the only explanation that makes sense," the man declared. "We've known such for quite some time, but we're actually going to act on it. I almost wish that she didn't show up today. It certainly would have allowed us to take care of things without further issue."

I looked up to him with a frown. "I know that you're mad about all of this, but I don't know if it's a good idea to let your rage get the best of you. I'm not going to let a killer get away because of your grudges. We're just as upset as you are, but that doesn't mean that we should allow murderers to run at large after going after people deliberately with murderous intent in mind," I said. 

"I agree," the woman admitted meekly. "I don't know if we'll be able to calm you down, but... We want this to be different too. Don't think that we're turning against you, but... That seems a bit extreme. That's all we're trying to say."

"Oracle is extreme too... Extremely dangerous," the man snarled. "It's time for us to take them out once and for all. They've been a thorn in the side of my family for far too long. The pain that they've caused cannot be measured. Half of the people I once cared for have been taken away from me. I refuse to allow such to grow even worse than before. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," I muttered, wishing that he would just stop talking. My headache was only worsening, and his anger was not helping in the slightest. 

"Good," the man said, rising to his feet. "Soon enough, everything will come falling down, and this world will be all the better for it. Oracle has existed for too long, and it's time for that to end."

**THE THEATRICAL TURNABOUT**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of case three!
> 
> This is one of my favorite cases from the series so far, and it's weird to think that this is case fifteen so far. Damn. 
> 
> When we come back next week, we'll be shifting into the second third of this story with case four! Until then, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


	21. Turnabout Live, Part 1

"Let's get this clear. You're going to listen to what answers I need, and then you're going to tell me what I need to know."

_"I will do no such thing... You don't know what you're involving yourself with."_

"Oh, I'm fully aware... And I want to know exactly what I want to hear. It would be best if you didn't push my patience."

_"I'm not going to do anything that you ask me to. You must leave at once."_

"Leave? I won't be doing that... I need to get rid of the evidence, after all."

_"You can't mean--"_

_BANG!_

"Now, all that's left to do is pick up the pieces... You made the mistake of resisting me, and you paid the consequences. I don't regret anything I had to do. This is all your fault."

**August 6**

**Lady Bird Studios**

**8:30 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

I couldn't contain my excitement at all as I stood outside the Lady Bird Studios alongside Mukuro, Chrysalis, Anton, Prosecutor Wood (wait, she's letting me call her by her first name now, so Niamh). I was practically bouncing on the spot, and they all watched me with wide smiles. 

A few weeks before, I entered a radio lottery to get the chance to visit the set of _Monsieur Cat_ , a popular superhero show filmed in our city. There were tons of people who entered it too, and I just so happened to win. I was able to bring along four people, and I decided to invite them along. After all, Chrysalis works with me at the agency, Mukuro is our friend through some cases, Anton is really tight with Chrysalis, and Niamh is a huge fan of the show. It just felt like the best thing to do. 

Even if there are others at the agency who I could have brought along, I wound up going with those four because they're all a lot closer to my age. Lily just about died of jealousy as soon as I told her that I had the tickets, and you have no idea how excited Felicity was to hear about it too. I've promised to give them all the details from the scheduled tour of the set, so I'm more than ready to remember everything that I see. They're counting on hearing my story, after all. 

"I can't believe this is happening!" I exclaimed, earning the attention of everyone in the group. "I know that I won the raffle ages ago, but it still doesn't feel like I'm actually here! We're going to be able to look around the set!"

"On top of that, we're going to be able to meet the cast," Mukuro went on with a smile. "Imagine that... I can't wait to see how everything plays out, honestly. I'm sure it's going to be great."

"I-I want to meet the leading a-actor!" Anton stammered, a wide grin on his features. 

I couldn't help my enthusiastic nod of agreement. "Me neither! He's absolutely incredible on the show, and I imagine that he's even more amazing up close in real life... This is the best day ever!" I cried out. 

James Devine was the name of the leading actor on _Monsieur Cat_. He plays a teenager who moonlights as a superhero saving all people from peril. He's my age too, and according to the people who have worked with him, he's a bit of a flirt. I am perfectly single, and I can't wait to see what happens when we finally meet! Maybe he'll decide that I'm the woman for him! Imagine dating a TV star! It would be nothing short of incredible!

"I'm honestly surprised that nobody has come out to meet us yet," Chrysalis admitted. "There don't seem to be all that many cars parked in the area either... Then again, I suppose there's probably a logical explanation for that."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine..." Niamh commented. For the first time in ages, she actually seemed calm. It was a completely different vibe compared to seeing her in court, and I couldn't help but be infatuated by it. She was always really panicky when in the courtroom, but something about her felt so composed and normal when outside of that situation. Even if she didn't really know any of us all that well, I could tell that she was having fun already. 

A sudden, bright flash caught me by surprise, and I let out a gasp of shock. Light filled my vision, and I stumbled as stars danced feverishly behind my eyes. I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm, and when I looked over, I saw Chrysalis was keeping me from falling over. I shot her an awkward grin before trying to figure out what the source of the flash was. 

Soon enough, my eyes fell upon a man holding a camera. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and a few freckles were splattered across the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a black hoodie with a red hat, though the hat was turned backwards. He had dark pants on as well, and a large bag was strapped against his back. The bag was practically overflowing with film supplies, and it stood at about half his height. I couldn't tell how he was able to keep his balance while carrying so much extra weight. 

"Who might you be?" Chrysalis questioned, ever the serious one. She made sure that I was standing fine on my own before pulling her hand away from my arm, and she started to fiddle with the edge of her braid quietly. 

"Oh, yeah... I'm Lucas Gassman! I work as a cameraman at the radio station!" he exclaimed. "I was sent down here to capture video of everything that goes down here today! We're going to be putting it on our radio station's website and all that. You know, it's a great way to get promotion since so many people were looking forward to potentially winning these tickets. I figured I would start off by taking a few pictures before the actual tour started."

Mr. Gassman flashed another picture, and Niamh was the victim this time. Mukuro held up an arm to keep from being temporarily blinded, and Anton hid behind Niamh with a frown on his face. Chrysalis screwed her eyes shut before blinking rapidly. I managed to avoid the full force of the flash somehow, and I was certainly thankful for such after being subjected to the initial picture. 

"What are we waiting on at this point?" Mukuro questioned. "Is there someone who's going to be coming out here to meet us so that we can start the tour?"

Mr. Gassman nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes! I know that one of the stars of the show is going to be showing you around the studios personally... Let me think... What was his name again...?" he murmured. 

I glanced around to the rest of the group, unable to keep myself from grinning madly. I was praying with every ounce of my being that the person in question was James. This could be the first step to our starstruck romance!

"Ah! That's right!" Mr. Gassman suddenly exclaimed, snapping his fingers together. He nearly dropped his camera in the process, so he let out a gasp before fumbling to keep the device under his control. Once he was sure that the camera wasn't going to be falling, he looked back to us. "It's James Devine himself!"

I let out a squeal and started bouncing on the spot once again. Anton made his way out from behind Niamh, and he couldn't stop grinning either. I could tell that the other three were beyond overjoyed at hearing such information as well even if they were hiding it a bit better than Anton and I were. 

"That's incredible," Niamh breathed. "I wonder when he's going to be coming out here then..."

As if on cue, the door to the studios opened. I did my best to stifle my remaining shrieks of excitement as a new person walked out. After all, I didn't want James to think that I was weird so soon after we first met, right?

Just as I suspected, the newcomer was none other than James Devine himself. He had a bright smile on his face, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. I recognized his green eyes and trademark blonde hair from all the times that I had watched him on television. Rather than wearing his costumes from the show though, he was wearing a simple light teal jacket over a white shirt. The jacket had been left unzipped. His pants were black, and his dark dress shoes were far more expensive than I would have expected him to put with such a casual outfit. 

I heard a small beeping noise from behind me, and I knew that Mr. Gassman had turned on the recording button on the camera. James walked a bit closer, spreading his arms wide in a grand gesture. "It's nice to see you all!" he declared, sweeping his arms inwards in a mighty bow. "It is I, James Devine, the star of _Monsieur Cat_! It's a pleasure to meet you all! Welcome to Lady Bird Studios!"

I had to bite my lip to keep from squealing at his words, so I instead chose to take a step closer to him. James looked out over the group that I had brought along, his smile never wavering. "How about you all go on and introduce yourselves to me? After all, we're going to be around each other quite a bit for the remainder of the tour," he explained. 

James' gaze fell on Niamh first, and she immediately flushed. "O-Oh, um... M-My name is Niamh Wood," she replied. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, instead forcing herself to stare at anywhere that wasn't his face. 

James certainly noticed her dodgy behavior, as he was quick to close the distance between them and take her hand in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, planting a kiss against the back of her hand before allowing it to fall once again. I saw him give her a quick wink, and envy quickly rose inside of me. She had just gotten a kiss from the one and only James Devine! The things I would have done to be in her shoes!

"How about you?" James questioned next. His eyes were on Mukuro next, but I was far too distracted with looking at Niamh with wide, curious eyes to bother shifting my focus over to Mukuro. 

"Mukuro," the detective replied. "It's nice to meet you too."

James repeated the process of kissing the back of her hand, but Mukuro didn't get anywhere near as flustered over it as Niamh did. Her cheeks certainly went pink, but she wasn't reading into it at all as far as I could tell. That would make sense, since as far as I could tell, she was still working on her thing with Aidan. 

James looked to me next. He didn't ask me for my name since I answered him far too quickly for that. I knew what he was going to question me about, so I figured that I might as well save us a little bit of time. "I'm Yuri. It's a pleasure," I told him, shooting him a wink of my own. 

He didn't seem to expect that. He stared at me for a moment before returning the gesture and planting a kiss on the back of my hand. Even after he had moved on, I couldn't stop looking at the place that he had touched me. I never wanted to wash my hand again!

James moved to Anton fourth, and after hearing the boy's name, he was more than happy to repeat the same kissing the hand gesture he had used on us three girls. Anton seemed to fall apart most out of any of us, rocking back and forth on his feet as he grinned wildly. He looked like a kid in a candy store, but I supposed I couldn't exactly criticize him for such. I doubt I looked any better, after all. 

When he got to Chrysalis, James seemed to understand that she wanted no part in his introductory gesture, and he didn't even bother to reach out when she pressed her hands firmly against her chest. Instead, he gave her a nod, and she returned it silently. James didn't seem to care that she had rejected such, instead turning around so that his back was towards us and his face was directed at the entrance of the studios. "How about we go inside then?" James questioned. He beckoned for us to trail after him, and I was more than happy to bound in his footsteps with the rest of the group. 

James opened the door without any issues, allowing us to walk in ahead of him. Once the five of us and Mr. Gassman had entered the building, he took his place at the front of the group once again. "I'm going to be taking you by the stage first," James explained. "This is where we keep the rooftop set. I'm sure that you're going to love it. Yes, there will be an opportunity for you to take pictures if you so please."

I must admit that the rooftop set was beyond what I could have imagined. It looked just as romantic as it did on the show. The titular Monsieur Cat often met his love interest on top of the building, and it was where they had shared their first kiss. Let me tell you that I had never envied a person so much until that moment. Seeing where it had happened was magical, and I couldn't help but hope that perhaps this would be the place where I would experience a similar first kiss with James. 

"Um, one question," Chrysalis said, and I turned to face her. She didn't seem entirely sure about what was happening, and she was actually frowning. "Where's everyone else? When we heard about this tour happening, we got the impression that many other members of the cast were going to be here for us to meet with."

James hesitated at her words and shrugged. "In all honesty, I don't know what could have happened to them," he admitted. "Nobody else wound up showing, but I figured that I would at least show you around the set. If it wound up being rescheduled, nobody told me, and I'm sure that we'll be able to more than make up for it in the future."

Chrysalis nodded her understanding, but I could tell that she wasn't entirely convinced. Even so, she did her best to hide such suspicions, and I decided to look away from her to admire the set once again. I was still impressed at how absolutely incredible it appeared in person. Seeing it through a camera and a television screen really didn't do the area justice, and I was sure that I would be imagining this very same space in my dream for ages to come. 

"For now, let's just enjoy ourselves," James smiled, gesturing to the rest of the set. "The cameras have been put away for the time being to ensure that nothing winds up being broken, but aside from that, this is exactly how we shoot scenes in this area for the show. There are other sets too, but this is easily the most iconic of the bunch, so it's going to be the only one that I show you on today's tour. If you want to take pictures, go right ahead. Just be careful not to break anything."

I grinned and pulled my phone from my pocket before starting to explore. I couldn't wait to go back and watch the video Mr. Gassman was filming of this later on. I knew that this was going to be an experience that I remembered for the rest of my life. I decided to further commemorate this joyous occasion with another string of pictures, and my phone's camera flickered madly with countless flashes for countless photos. I didn't even look back to see if they turned out well, not entirely caring since at least one of them was bound to be nice when I later looked back to see their quality. 

The rest of the group seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much. James was standing off to the side and talking to Anton, whose eyes were lit up with pure admiration. Chrysalis was standing beside Anton with a gentle hand on his shoulder as he rattled off excitedly to James. Niamh and Mukuro were looking around the set, both taking pictures for later on just like I was. 

After I had taken photos of everything that caught my attention, I looked over the remainder of my party before gesturing for them to come closer. Sure enough, they followed my wishes, and we were all gathered together soon afterwards. 

"What is it?" Niamh questioned, tilting her head lightly to one side. 

I thrust my phone into the air with a wide grin. "Let's get a picture together!" I exclaimed. "We're going to want to remember this wonderful day, right? We might as well take a picture as a group, and I can share it to all of you later on!"

There were no objections to the idea of a picture, and the rest of the group came in close around me. I took a picture of all six of us, and Mr. Gassman continued to film us with a wide smile. When I pulled my phone down, I smiled and tucked the device back into my pocket before looking over the rest of the set one more time. It sure was different in person when compared to how it was through a television screen. Without filters or extra lighting, it was a unique experience, and it seemed like a completely different place in my eyes. 

"I doubt that the set is ever this empty when filming is going on," Mukuro commented as she looked at the set as well. "There are probably tons of other people around while you're trying to capture the right shot for given scenes, right?"

James nodded. "Yeah, you can certainly say that again... There are usually at least a dozen people in this area between the director, camera workers, and other actors. It can get a bit crowded at times, but I would be lying if I said that I wanted to be anywhere other than this set. The cast, crew, and I are sort of like a family, and I wouldn't give them up for the world," he replied. 

"It's a shame that nobody else was able to make it," Mukuro frowned. "I know that I would have loved to meet your love interest from the show... Are you two a thing in real life, or is that just a rumor that magazines have come up with over time?"

James let out a chuckle. "I'm not dating anyone at the moment. Members of the media do enjoy stirring up drama for the sake of views though, so I suppose it's not too surprising. Still, the fact remains that I'm not involved with anyone, and I don't think that I would be able to date a member of the cast. Like I said, they're like my family above all else," he told her. 

"So that means that you're available," I smirked, shooting him a playful wink. "I don't know if I mentioned this when I introduced myself to you earlier, but I'm very single."

Chrysalis snickered from nearby, holding one hand over her mouth to keep from looking too rude. "Way to be subtle, Yuri," she commented with a shake of her head. 

"Admit it, Chrysalis! Most of us have had a crush on him at some point! I'm just the one who's actually saying something about it!" I exclaimed. I looked to the rest of the group for confirmation, and judging by the blush that rose in Niamh and Anton's cheeks, they agreed with me completely. Chrysalis and Mukuro proceeded to let out small strings of laughter at my words, but neither of them confirmed or denied what I had said. 

James shook his head. "You seem like a nice girl," he commented. "In fact, all of you seem to be rather interesting people. What do you say that we exchange phone numbers in case we wish to stay in contact in the future?"

I don't think I had ever pulled my phone out of my pocket faster than I did right then. I couldn't stop grinning as I moved to the contacts area of my phone, ready to type in James' number as soon as he started reading it aloud. I couldn't believe it! I was actually getting James Devine's phone number, and he wanted to stay in contact with me after the tour! This really was the best day ever!

The exchange of phone numbers went by quickly, and all five of us sent James quick messages to make sure that we had typed in everything right. After confirming that everything was in order, our phones were put away once again, and James smiled before gesturing for us to follow him away from the set. As he turned around, I blew him a kiss from my place at the back of the group. Chrysalis snickered again, and I playfully hit her with the back of my hand. She simply didn't understand true love when she saw it!

James kept talking soon afterwards, and that was enough to keep me from bickering with Chrysalis. I looked up to him with admiring eyes as he spoke. "Now, I'm going to be taking you by the dressing rooms," he declared. "I think that it would be alright for us to head into my room, and you can see what the space is like. The costumes aren't in there now since we put them in storage after each major filming session, but you can still take in the space if that's what you want to do."

A chorus of agreement rose up from the group, and I scurried after James with a grin on my face. The walk to the dressing rooms was far longer than I had been expecting initially, but I didn't really mind. The idea of being in the Lady Bird Studios was far too exhilarating for me to get over even after so much time. 

When we arrived at the hallways with the dressing rooms, James led us off to the left. "The right hall has all of the girls' rooms while this area is for the boys," he explained. "Of course, there's nothing against you coming in as long as nothing is going on inside. I wouldn't want to leave you lovely ladies behind, after all."

"Lovely ladies!" I whispered to Chrysalis. She shot me a playful wink, and I nudged her with my elbow. She wasn't going to let me forget about my behavior for quite some time, and I was fully aware of such, but it still wasn't enough to convince me to hold back on it. I was having fun, so what did it matter?

James finally arrived in front of his dressing room, and he stopped walking to turn and face the rest of us. "Here we are," he announced. "This time, I must ask that you keep from touching anything. I doubt that any of you would wind up stealing from my dressing room, but I still think that perhaps it would be for the best if you kept your distance. I can be a bit picky about how I manage my space, after all."

"He's organized. I love that trait in a guy," I murmured, looking over to Chrysalis with an uncontrollable grin. 

"Funny that you say that, because last time I walked into your room, I could barely find the floor," Chrysalis replied. I rolled my eyes, and she laughed in response. Even if I was acting like I hated it, I loved seeing this side of Chrysalis. It had been quite some time since Chrysalis fully let herself go like this, and while she still seemed to be on her guard, it was a significant improvement to how distant she could be at other points in time. It was nice to see her so relaxed and happy, especially after the case at the theater from a few months prior. 

James' features suddenly melted into a frown, and he looked down at his feet. He leaned over to pick something up, but I couldn't quite see what due to being at the back of the group and not being particularly tall. However, when James rose to his full height, I was able to see what he had found. 

It was a sign of a bright yellow color. It said 'DO NOT ENTER' in bold black letters, and the string at the top had snapped. I realized that it had probably been hooked around the door's nameplate. James' name was written on top of a black cat sign at the center of the door, and a hook could be seen sticking out from the insignia. Chances were the sign had slipped off there somehow, but I couldn't say what could have shoved it to the ground. 

"This is strange," James murmured. "As far as I know, nobody else has come by the set today... It's weird."

"Did you put that sign up?" Chrysalis questioned. Just like that, her easygoing attitude had faded away, and she was back to focusing on business. I deflated slightly at the realization before turning my full attention back to James. Did she ever try to have fun?

James shook his head. "No, I didn't... I never dropped by my dressing room after arriving either. I was too focused on setting up everything else for the tour," he admitted. He leaned down once again and leaned the sign against the floor before shrugging and shaking his head. "I suppose it isn't important though... How about we go on and look around the dressing room? I can figure out what happened there another time."

James' fingers curled around the door handle, and he pushed it open. However, as soon as he did, I couldn't help but wish that he had kept it closed. 

On the other side of the door, there was a man stretched out on the floor. He was wearing dark clothing that seemed to be rather casual. His limbs were sprawled in every direction with no rhyme or reason, and the middle of the dressing room was in complete disarray around him. Shelves had fallen over, makeup was spilled across the ground, and a rack of clothing at the back of the room had been tilted against a mirror. The place where the rack hit the mirror, a magnificent crack could be seen, implying that the impact had been far from gentle. 

The worst part was yet to come though. At the center of the mess, there was blood flowing from a wound at the side of the man's head. There was a hole in his temple, and my hand clamped over my mouth to keep me from getting sick. That was a gun wound, and the man had been murdered. 

"Is... Is that who I think it is...?!" Niamh exclaimed, her face suddenly far too pale to be natural. She was shaking lightly on the spot. 

"The director of the show..." Chrysalis murmured, her eyes narrowed in confirmation. "He's... He's dead."

"He isn't breathing...!" Anton whispered, his eyes wide as saucers. He clung to Chrysalis' arm immediately, and she pulled him in close before stroking at the back of his head gently. 

"I-I'm going to call my father for help!" Mukuro cried out, fishing her phone from her pocket. She turned around to face Mr. Gassman. "You're getting this on camera, right? That's going to be important for the people involved with the case to know!"

Mr. Gassman responded with a nod, but when he moved, he nearly toppled over. He managed to correct his posture at the last minute, but his moment without balance was still concerning. The equipment on his back threatened to fully collapse, and he cringed as he settled his camera back into place in front of his eye as Mukuro pressed on her phone screen to call her father to ask for help. 

I couldn't stop staring at the body personally. I knew that it was a terrible sight, and I couldn't just stand there watching it forever, but what else was I supposed to do? My stomach already hurt, but I couldn't force myself to look away in spite of the growing knot at my core. 

Niamh moved over to James carefully, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. His expression was blank, but grief was blooming slowly in his eyes. Niamh led him away from the entrance to the room slowly, and James was more than happy to let her take him further into the hallway. Mukuro started pacing down the length of the space as she spoke to her father, but I couldn't process the specific words she was saying. 

I finally managed to look away when a new sound distracted me. Anton was crying into Chrysalis' shoulder now, and she was staring at the ground with an inscrutable gaze as she comforted him. I placed a hand on Anton's back just between his shoulder blades, and he melted at the contact. I couldn't believe that this was happening, and my heart was pounding rapidly in my ears. Why did this have to happen today? Why in the world did the director of the show have to die? Who in the world was responsible for all of this?

I didn't know the answers to these questions, but I was determined to find out one way or another for the sake of everyone there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet James I care him
> 
> -Digital


	22. Turnabout Live, Part 2

**August 6**

**Lady Bird Studios**

**12:15 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

The next few hours passed in a timeless blur, and I was barely aware of everything that was happening around me. Investigators arrived on the scene, but I couldn't bring myself to completely focus on what everyone was doing. Instead, I just stared at the ground, trying to block out the chaos surrounding me on every side. It was too loud, and if anyone spoke to me wrong, I knew that I was going to snap. 

A hand came down on my shoulder, and I instinctively tensed in preparation to whirl around and see who it was. I had been far more jittery than I would have liked in the aftermath of the previous case where I was arrested for the murder of Saya. Everything had left me feeling nervous, and while I was getting better, this noise wasn't helping in the slightest. I just wanted it all to be over already. 

However, I realized soon after turning around that I didn't need to worry. I was met with the gentle smile of Felicity, and a sigh pushed through my lips out of relief. "Ah... Felicity," I murmured. "Hey. Sorry for getting all nervous there. What are you doing here?"

"We got a call saying that somebody here was going to need defending," Felicity replied with a small shrug. "Judging by the fact that you're standing outside of the studios and there are more police cars than I can count, I would say that the tip that sent us here is beyond correct."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... The director of the show was found dead in James Devine's dressing room," I said, not bothering to elaborate further. Felicity knew why I had come to the studios in the first place, so I figured that she would be able to put the rest of the pieces together. 

Sure enough, Felicity let out a gasp, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. "That's awful!" she cried out. "Do you know who was arrested for the crime? Maybe we'll be able to defend them!"

"I can tell you that much."

Mukuro appeared off to my left, and I turned to face her with a frown. We had been separated when the investigators arrived and decided to press us all for testimony. I didn't have anything notable to say that was different from the rest of the group, so they were more than happy to let me go. I had been sitting outside for quite some time, though I wasn't able to see the other five teens I had been spending my time with. Seeing Mukuro was far more relieving than I would have openly admitted, I must say. 

"Mukuro," I breathed, taking a step closer to her. "What happened? Who was arrested for the crime?"

"James Devine," Mukuro replied. "The body was found in his dressing room, and everyone agreed that such was incredibly suspicious. He's supposedly being taken to the detention center right now. Niamh was let go around the time that he was arrested, and she said that she called your agency."

"That explains everything," I sighed. Of course Niamh would want to call and ask for help. She didn't know where I was, and the same likely applied to Yuri. She definitely believed in James' innocence just as much as the rest of us, and the agency would be the best way for her to find someone to look after him. 

"There was a huge debate about who was going to be coming down here to defend the suspect, but I managed to get the upper hand in the end. Mr. Morix said that I could use some extra experience working with someone in the agency," Felicity told me. "I guess that means we're going to be a team for this case! How does that sound, Chrissy?"

I stared up at Felicity, my jaw slack in my silence. I managed to shake it off and correct my expression rather quickly, but I felt like Felicity had already seen more than enough. "Yeah... I suppose that's alright," I murmured. 

"It sounds like you don't want to work with me," Felicity frowned, nudging me gently with her elbow. "You really don't need to worry about that, you know. I promise that I'm not scary or anything. 

"It's not that," I immediately said. "I'm not exactly the best at working with new people. That's all." This was far more accurate than she could ever understand, to say the least. I didn't want to be dragged into anything unnecessarily when I had more than enough to stress over because of the Oracle project, but it seemed that I didn't have a choice. Besides, I had known Felicity loosely for quite some time now. Cotoli had trusted her enough to hire her, so it was surely fine for me to believe in her too. 

At least, that's what I hoped. 

"We'll figure it out then!" Felicity proclaimed, right back to her regular, chipper self. "What should we do first? Should we go and look at the body? I know that seeing the crime scene would be a great way to kick everything off."

"I think I would be able to get you two in," Mukuro said, crossing her arms as a frown festered on her features. "My father was able to pull a few strings, and I'm going to be acting as the lead detective for this case."

"They don't need you as a witness?" I questioned in surprise. "I would have expected them to want to hear your words in court..."

"Since the five of us saw basically the same thing, not all of us need to testify," Mukuro replied. "Yuri and Anton were the first two the police interrogated, so they're going to be the ones who have to stand in court. You've surely realized that they didn't want to talk to you for too long, right? The same applies to Niamh and me. She's going to be acting as a prosecutor for this case too."

"Wow... A lot happened while I've been standing out here," I whispered with a shake of my head. "Still, I suppose there's nothing that we can do about it now. Is there anything else that we should know?"

"We should probably get all of ur talking out of the way before we go inside," Felicity commented. "It seems really loud in there, and I don't know if I'll be able to hear what you're saying once we get inside."

Mukuro nodded her understanding. "Prosecutor Lin is going to be working with Niamh on this case. Apparently, Niamh called her as soon as her questioning session finished, so she came right down to see what was going on. I bet that you just missed her," she explained. "You'll probably see her at some point later today anyways, so I'm not all that worried, and I don't think you should be either."

"That's good to hear," I remarked. "At least we know now that the prosecutor isn't going to be searching for a guilty verdict using any means necessary... I truly doubt that James would want to kill his director this way. You heard what he said while we were on the tour. He called the rest of the cast his family, and I don't think that he was lying. Every part of him seemed far too sincere for that."

"I agree," Mukuro nodded. "Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the police looking into the case... They made the arrest without talking to me or any of the other detectives. They sure did jump to a lot of conclusions because of the location of the body..."

"The body was found in the defendant's dressing room as far as I'm aware... That doesn't exactly bode well for us," Felicity sighed. "Still, I suppose there's nothing we can do about it aside from pray that we're able to find something that makes it obvious that he didn't do it, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm not sure where we're going to start... But I feel like we should certainly check out the dressing room. On top of that, I want to know what happened before all of us arrived at the scene of the crime."

"What do you mean?" Felicity questioned with a frown. "You're making it sound like something happened before the corpse was even discovered."

"You could say that," I shrugged. "You see, we all arrived here for the tour of set. You already knew that we were going to be looking around the studios as part of the radio lottery Yuri won, but... We were supposed to meet various members of the cast and crew. When we got here though, there wasn't anybody around. The only one who we were able to see was James, and he said that nobody else had showed up."

"That's certainly suspicious behavior," Felicity commented. "I feel like somebody is going to try and say that James kept everyone else from coming to see the set in case the body was discovered prematurely."

"Still, if that was the case, why was he keeping the body in his dressing room? That would have clearly incriminated him, and it doesn't make sense in the slightest. If you ask me, somebody did this to frame him. I just wish that I could say who would want to do something like this," I frowned. "We can ask James about that when we go by the detention center later on. If he knows everybody on the cast and crew as well as it seems, he has to have some inkling as to why the victim would be killed seemingly out of nowhere."

"He's going to be in questioning for quite some time, I'm afraid... And good luck getting into the detention center at all," Mukuro said. "You have no idea how many reporters are out there. I could barely squeeze my way inside, and once I did get in, I couldn't even talk to him. It's an absolute circus down there, and I suggest preparing yourself as much as possible before you even try to head inside."

"At the end of the day, he is a celebrity, so it would make sense why members of the press would be curious about what happened," Felicity commented. "I know that I would want to figure out what's going on if I was in their shoes. I love the show as a whole, and the idea that its star would commit murder... It's ridiculous."

"There's bound to be lots of gossip and rumors surrounding this case, but we're going to have to do our best to press through and ignore it," I shrugged. "For now, how about we go and see the crime scene? I want to see if there's anything suspicious that we missed the first time."

"All of us were really worried, so it's not like we were trying to pick up on any details," Mukuro admitted. "Chances are you'll stumble upon something that we were too distracted to see before. I mean, it's kind of hard to conduct an investigation when you're still dealing with the shock of finding a body in a place like that. We thought that today was going to be simple and fun, but that was far from being the case."

"We'll get right to it then," Felicity beamed. "Can you take us to the scene of the crime? I'm sure that we'll be able to take care of everything from there."

Mukuro nodded and gestured for us to trail after her. I followed her through the many people that had crowded into the studios, cringing whenever the sound grew to be too much for me. All of a sudden, I longed to pull out my phone and shove my earbuds in. Maybe if I played my music loudly enough, I wouldn't have to listen to all of this chaos. As it was, I felt like I was going to fall apart if there wasn't at least an attempt to make everybody calm down. 

We managed to weave our way in between the countless people to arrive at the place where the victim was found. When we finally did get to the dressing room, I let out a sigh. The body was still there, and the bloodstains on the ground made my stomach churn. No matter how many times I investigated murders, I would never be used to the appearance of death. Nobody deserved this, and seeing someone die always made me feel terrible. 

Then again, I suppose that was also exactly why I did this. Nobody deserved to have their death go unsolved if something like this did happen, so it fell to me and the rest of the agency to find the truth. It unfortunately didn't help the dizziness that always hit me at the sight of so much blood in the slightest though. 

The body looked just the same as it had before. There was far too much blood spread around the victim's head, but it also didn't seem like there was enough. Granted, it was enough to make me nauseous, but I would have expected to see more. The spilled makeup was still spread out along the floor, and the cracked mirror on the other side of the room made me wince. It didn't appear that there were signs of a struggle despite the mess. If the victim and culprit had fought, there would be far more spilled than some makeup. Plus, there would be more blood, and as it was, there was barely anything compared to what one would have thought would be present. 

"If you ask me, the body had to have been moved," I said immediately, looking up to Felicity. "There's not enough blood for the victim to have been killed here, and the carpet would have made it impossible to clean up blood easily... Those stains aren't going to be coming out for quite some time."

Felicity nodded her agreement. "I wonder where he was killed though... Like you said, it couldn't have been around here, but... I guess that's going to be something for us to check out when we're finished up in here," she told me. 

"What about the murder weapon?" I questioned, turning my attention to Mukuro. "It looks like the victim was shot to death, but I don't see a gun anywhere around here. Perhaps the culprit took it with them..."

Mukuro shrugged. "We've combed through nearly every room in this place, but we haven't found anything," she told us. "There's only one room that we haven't been able to get into, and that's the room of the director himself. It's locked, and we don't know what happened to the key that would let us get in. We're trying to have the lock opened somehow, but it's a slow process so far. Breaking down the door could risk disturbing the scene, so we're left to look at everything outside of the room until we're able to find a way inside."

"Hm... We need to get through that door if we want to figure out what's going on then," Felicity commented. "For all we know, the murder weapon could be in there, and if it is, we're going to need that extra evidence."

"We won't know for sure until after we can sneak our way inside," Mukuro remarked with another relaxed shrug. "I hope that we're able to figure everything out as soon as possible. Until then though, feel free to look around here. You have my full permission to look around the room."

I nodded my understanding and took a step further into the room. I looked down at the body first, cringing at the amount of blood that flooded my vision. There didn't seem to be anything odd about it aside from the lack of blood splatter, but that was more a problem with the floor around the body than anything else. 

Felicity made her way over to the spilled makeup beside the corpse, and she pointed at a thin layer of pink powder on the ground with a frown. "Hey, look at this," she commented. The container of the powder had been knocked onto the floor sideways, and the lid had been sent flying across the room to land very close to the body. The lid was almost halfway tucked underneath the body in a way. 

"The lid is underneath the body," I murmured. "But not completely. It's tucked under the victim's hip as if it was sliding and then came to a stop as soon as it ran into him, so that probably means that the body was here first. If the makeup was spilled after the body was put in place, then chances are that we can reliably say that it was an accident. It isn't a sign of a struggle, in other words."

"Then we're going to have to come up with an explanation for the tilted costume rack too," Felicity commented with a shrug. "Do you have any ideas as to why that thing would be thrown aside?"

I hesitated before looking over to the rack, frowning at the sight of the broken mirror beside it. "You know, I find it rather strange... James told us ahead of time that he didn't keep any costumes in the room. He said that they were all put away before the crew was finished filming for any given day. All of the clothes on the rack seem to be rather normal, but I don't think that any of them belong to James."

Felicity and I both walked over to the tilted rack, and she nodded from my side. "Yeah... I would say that you're right. None of these seem like they would fit him particularly well. He's a petite young man, and I doubt that he would regularly wear something so large. Then you have this jacket, which is obviously for a smaller girl, and he would never be able to fit into it," she agreed. 

"I have to wonder where the clothes could have come from if James didn't put them here though..." Mukuro commented. "Maybe the culprit was the one to scatter them around on the rack, but I don't know why that would be necessary. It's an absolute mess..."

I crouched down and started to rustle through the fallen clothes at the bottom of the rack. Some articles of clothing had been forced from the top of the rack when it made impact with the mirror. I pulled away a few pieces of fabric to look at the bottom of the rack, but I still didn't understand what was going on. In a way, the placing of the fabric seemed deliberate, as if someone pulled them free from the rack on purpose before throwing them around. 

"I think that the clothing was put here on purpose," Felicity said suddenly, almost as if she could read my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder and offered her a nod as she continued speaking. "Maybe the clothing was placed here to try and hide something... I can't fathom why they would need to hide the bottom of the rack though. I don't think there's anything down there."

"Hey, Mukuro," I commented, rising to my full height once again. "Do you know where the costumes are regularly kept? Is there a specific storage area where they're meant to be stored overnight?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Mukuro replied. "We were't able to get in there at first either, but we wound up getting lucky. The victim had a set of keys in his pocket, and one of them unlocked the costume area. I bet that the key that opens his room was discarded somewhere, though I don't know where it could be now."

I paused, placing one hand on my chin. I felt like I was starting to understand this case, but my mind was spinning as I tried to note all of the details. I pressed my eyes closed to block out all distractions, attempting to make heads or tails of everything whirring in the back of my mind. 

"I think that the culprit brought this clothing here from other places," I commented. "If the culprit wanted to hide this segment of the rack, the first and most obvious answer would be to get into the costumes, but maybe they didn't know how to do that. Instead, they turned to the other dressing rooms. As far as I can tell, none of them were locked overnight, so they would have been able to run in and out collecting any stray pieces of clothing and bunching them up here."

"They probably didn't realize that one of the keys on the victim's keyring was meant to open the costume area, and even if they did know that, they wouldn't have had time to pull all of that together without running the risk of being caught whenever James showed up to start the tour of the set," Felicity agreed. 

"They could have removed the key to the director's area if they knew which one it was though, and they could have hidden it on purpose to keep our investigation from continuing," Mukuro remarked with a nod. "There was only one other thing we found on the victim's person aside from the keyring, and that would be his phone. We don't know the password to it though, so it's not as if we can unlock it and see if there's anything hiding around there. I guess we'll just have to make do with everything else that we have at our disposal."

"If we could get into his phone, we would be able to see if there are any clues about how to get into the director's room," Felicity frowned with a heavy sigh. "Still, I suppose that there's not much for us to do about it at this point... We'll just have to keep looking around and pray that we get lucky enough to stumble upon something."

"I'm sure that something is going to turn up at some point... As of now, we don't know much, but we can say for sure that the person behind this crime didn't have access to the costume area. They were unfamiliar with the set," I murmured. "If a member of the cast or crew was given the keyring, chances are they would be fully aware of which key to use if they wanted to get into the costume area. They would have likely already done something like that as part of the cast or crew."

"In other words, the culprit must have been an outsider with too little time to actually look around the set," Felicity concluded. "I can't help but wonder about the tour though... If the tour was really cancelled, why did James show up? How was everything cancelled in the first place?"

"That's the sort of evidence that you would expect to find on the victim's phone, but we can't look at his emails, calls, or texts as long as the device remains locked," Mukuro told her with a sigh. "I know that it's far from being convenient, but we're going to have to make do with what little evidence we have elsewhere."

"I think there's one another thing that we can use to our advantage here," Felicity commented. "Let's go back over to look at the spilled makeup. There's something else that I noticed aside from the lid being propped up against the body."

I nodded my understanding before backing away from the costume rack. We made our way over to the spilled makeup, and I immediately realized exactly what Felicity was talking about. Just to add emphasis, she gestured to it, and I couldn't help but kick myself for not seeing it sooner. 

There was a footprint in the spilled powder. There was only one, and I didn't even think that the culprit had realized that they had stepped in it at the time of the crime. The culprit had been wearing a shoe at the time, and the shoe seemed rather large. 

"I don't think that shoe could possibly belong to James," Mukuro said conclusively a few seconds later. "Look at how large it is. We already said that James is a smaller person, and that shoe would be absolutely huge on him."

"The footstep is a firm one, and it doesn't look like the culprit slipped at all while making it," Felicity remarked. "If James had been wearing shoes that were that large, he would have undoubtedly tripped at some point, but this footprint is so confident, and there's nothing to suggest that the culprit would have lost their balance at the time."

"Besides, I don't see any shoes around here," I nodded in agreement. "I suppose that the shoes could have been hidden elsewhere, but... If the culprit had noticed that the footstep was there at all, then they certainly would have held back for a moment to clean up the powder. It seems rather incriminating, after all."

"I think that we've got a pretty good idea of what probably happened at the time of the crime," Felicity commented. "The culprit gathered miscellaneous clothing items from other rooms and threw them onto the rack to hide something, but we aren't sure of what that is quite yet. They stepped through the powder by accident, and a footprint was left behind. They probably didn't realize that it was there, and we can assume such because the footprint is still there. They would have cleaned it otherwise."

"On top of that, the culprit wasn't familiar with the set in the slightest. They were able to figure out which key went with the door to the director's room, but they didn't have any time to determine which key was set to unlock the costume area, hence why the clothing was used," I went on. "We need to find a way to get into the victim's phone if we want to find out why the tour could have been canceled for everyone aside from James."

"I don't know about you, but I certainly think that the cancellation of the tour was deliberate," Mukuro commented as she crossed her arms. "James was the only one to show up, and then the body was found in his dressing room. That seems like an attempt to frame him for the crime, reducing any interference as much as possible by getting rid of the rest of the cast. Everything was set up so that the crime would be discovered at the time that it was by the people that it was."

"The tour was recorded as well, and I'm willing to bet that the culprit was aware of such," I suggested. "After all, the body seemed to be set up perfectly to be captured on camera by Mr. Gassman as we were looking around backstage. We're looking for someone who knew the tour was happening, but they also couldn't have been involved as part of the cast or crew of the show."

"That doesn't exactly help us to figure out who could have been responsible for the crime though," Felicity sighed. "I mean, think about it. There were tons of people who knew the tour was happening at this time. You guys entered the contest and won it despite not being involved with the case. It was common public knowledge by the time that the tour had come around, so there are likely many people out there who were aware that it was happening. Our only idea of who the culprit could have been can be found in the footstep near the body."

"Is there anything else notable that you think we should hear about?" I questioned, turning to Mukuro. "Did you discover anything about the weapon? We know that it was a gun, but maybe we'll be able to find something out regarding the size."

"The gun was a small one. That's about all that we can say on the matter at the moment," Mukuro admitted. "In other words, it could easily be hidden anywhere on this set, and we would be none the wiser. We're searching high and low to try and find it, but we haven't found anything that could lead back to the weapon."

"Let's hope that we get lucky then," Felicity sighed. "Maybe we should call it good here. I don't think that I can think of anything else for us to look at around here, and there are other people who we might want to talk to along the way."

"I'll leave you to look around then," Mukuro said with a smile. "I should probably stay around here and make sure that nothing happens to the body. The forensics team is going to arrive soon to look at it and hopefully offer an autopsy. If all goes well, we'll have the file for it by the time the trial starts tomorrow."

"I suppose that we should go and find my sister and Niamh," I told Felicity. "They're going to be the prosecution on this case, so they could have something for us to be aware of. We won't know for sure until we go and see them. It would likely be the best next destination for us given that we likely can't talk to James yet, and it'll probably be a while before we have that chance."

"Good luck looking for them," Mukuro told us, shooting both me and Felicity a bright wave as we headed for the door. As we left the scene behind, I let out a heavy sigh. I didn't know what we could expect from here on out, but I somehow doubted that it was going to be good. This entire case was giving me a bad feeling, but I unfortunately couldn't quite place why. Felicity didn't seem to share my apprehension, so I didn't say anything about it. We had more important things to concentrate on than my random bad feelings, after all, and if we wanted to find the truth, we were going to have to get started. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started online classes for the new school year this week and 0/10 I do not approve
> 
> -Digital


	23. Turnabout Live, Part 3

**August 6**

**Lady Bird Studios**

**2:30 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

Felicity and I spent about the next ten minutes exploring the building of the crime before I caught sight of something familiar. A smile appeared on my face as I wove in and out of the crowd before popping out once again on the other side. Sora stood towering above me with Niamh at her side. As Felicity joined us, I couldn't help but wonder why I had to be cursed with being so short. 

"Hey, Chrysalis!" Sora exclaimed with a wide grin. "It's good to see that you're up and moving around after the case a while ago. I was worried that you weren't going to be able to head out to search for clues if you were put on any investigation teams."

I let out a small snort and shook my head. "You underestimate me, Sora. My shoulder is healing fine, and I told you that the last time you were surprised I was running around too. I swear, you're just as overprotective as our brother is; you just hide it better," I commented, crossing my arms with a frown. 

Sora let out a gasp, pressing one hand to her chest in mock offense. "I am wounded by your words, little sister! You say that I'm as bad as our brother? How terrible!" she exclaimed dramatically. Niamh looked up to her with a small frown before she shook her head and laughed it off. "You might have a point there, but I'll never say for sure. Now, how about we get down to business?"

"How much do you know about this case already?" Felicity questioned from my side. I looked up to her before glancing back at Sora. Had I gotten the chance to introduce these two already? 

"I know everything that you probably do. Niamh told me about it," Sora explained before shifting her attention to Felicity. "But I don't think I know who your friend is. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sora Lin, and I'm a prosecutor. This is Niamh Wood, another prosecutor and my adopted daughter."

"It's nice to meet you," Felicity grinned in response, waving madly before getting back to the subject at hand. "So, is there anything you think that we should be aware of before we continue the investigation? We haven't gotten the chance to look around all that much, I'm afraid. Most of our time has been spent at the scene of the crime specifically."

"The victim was shot in the side of the head, and the tour of the building was canceled the morning of," Sora replied. "That's about all that we can tell you. If we had any other details, we would be sharing them, but like I said, we don't know all that much more than anyone else looking around on this case."

"Maybe there's something else you would be able to help us out with then," Felicity suggested. "We're going to need to talk to the witnesses about what happened at the time of the body's discovery, but we haven't seen any of them around here. Could you give us an explanation on where they could be?"

"I bet they're down at the detention center," Niamh answered. "I know that Anton really wanted to make sure that James was alright, and Yuri tagged along as soon as she heard where he was going. I bet that they're keeping him company if he's out of questioning. If he's still being interrogated, chances are they're waiting for him to be let go."

"Even if we all saw the body's discovery, only the two of them are testifying to keep things from getting repetitive," I murmured. "I know that it makes sense, but... I guess it just bothers me that they're stuck just sitting around doing nothing at a time like this. I know it would make me a bit crazy to get up and jump into the fray."

"That's just how everything crumbled. There's no need to worry about it," Sora shrugged. "We don't have an autopsy report quite yet, so there isn't anything that we can do about figuring out more regarding the body and all that happened to it at the time of the murder... It's unfortunate, but that's how it worked out."

"Hey... You've been looking around this area trying to find out more about the crime, right?" Felicity questioned. When Sora nodded, Felicity went on. "Have you found out where the gun could be? We heard that it went missing, but we want to know if you've had any extra luck in tracking it down."

"On that subject, we're also curious about the keyring used by the director. It went missing at the time of the murder, and we're going to need to use it if we want to easily get into his room here on set," I continued. 

Sora hesitated before deflating and shaking her head. "I really do wish that I knew what to tell you there, but... I'm clueless, I'm afraid. I've been trying to figure out where both the gun and the keyring disappeared to, but I haven't found anything that could lead us to their locations," she replied. 

"That's rather unfortunate," Felicity muttered with a sigh. "Then again, I don't know what I expected. If you had found them, Mukuro surely would have mentioned it when we were talking to her earlier."

"We'll find them both though," Sora assured her. "If we want to find the truth behind the cases, we're going to have to determine where the gun and keyring disappeared to, and I'm not about to let the culprit slip through the cracks that easily. I'm sure that Niamh feels the same way that I do. Isn't that right, Niamh?"

Niamh jumped instinctively upon being addressed, glancing around in a frenzy before sighing as her shoulders fell inward. "Yeah... I do," she confirmed as soon as she was able to figure out what the question was. She shook her head to herself soon afterwards, seemingly disappointed with her own lack of concentration a few moments before. 

"Is something wrong?" I questioned. "You seem to be rather... Unfocused." I was positive that there was something bothering her, but I didn't know how else to phrase it, so I simply let the words out and waited for her to offer me an answer. 

"Yeah... I guess I am," Niamh admitted. "I've been thinking a lot about the video that we were all part of for the radio station's website. Mr. Gassman's tape has been handed into the police as evidence, and we're going to have to use it as evidence during the trial. It's rather conclusive proof in the eyes of the police looking into this case. They think that James must have done it since the body was found in his room."

"You would think they would have learned by now to not jump to conclusions like that," I muttered with a shake of my head. "Then again, would it really be the local police department if they were using their heads all the time? I swear, only a few people there only ever put in the effort to find the truth behind crimes like this..."

"We'll deal with the video if it comes to that," Sora assured Niamh. "In the meantime, I think we should search more for the gun and the keyring... Both of them are going to be on the smaller side, so it's going to take a lot of looking around if we want to stumble upon them. Then again, that's under the assumption that the killer actually left them behind at the scene of the crime..."

"I can't help but wonder how the culprit managed to get into the scene of the crime at all," I admitted. "I mean, if the killer wasn't part of the cast or crew, then they would have had more than a few problems trying to sneak inside without being caught. You wouldn't be able to get into the building as a whole without a key, and I somehow doubt that the killer would be able to just sneak in without any issues."

"About that... We actually found something interesting while looking around the outside edge of the building," Sora remarked. "It's rather strange, to say the least. We found a window that we suspect connects to the victim's office. James says that it's one of the only windows in the building, so if it's in the general area of his office, chances are that's where it leads."

"The window was broken, and there was glass everywhere," Niamh continued. "But we weren't able to get in through there either. Something had been pushed up against the window to keep people from getting in. As far as I can tell, it's a cabinet of some kind. I don't know what else it could be... The point is that the window was broken, but it's since been blockaded, and we aren't going to be able to get in without the key even with the window broken."

"We have people trying to pick the lock right now, but I don't know how well that's going to turn out," Sora admitted. "I guess that we're going to have to wait until tomorrow or hope that they get lucky enough to break through the door later today."

"Our other option would be to see if the victim's phone has anything. Granted, nobody has been able to get into it yet, but I'm sure that it would be able to help us out if we had the password and could unlock it," Felicity commented with a loose shrug. "If we really can't get inside though... I guess that all we can do is consider our investigation finished for the time being. We can head down to the detention center to wait for James to be let go from questioning."

"There's one other thing that I want to tell you about before you go," Sora cut in. "I mentioned it before, but the tour was canceled only this morning. There was no previous buildup to it, and James is insistent on saying that the victim was intent on going through with it during filming yesterday. I don't know what would cause the sudden change of heart, but it was enough to be responsible for some serious whiplash among the crew."

"Only this morning... That's rather strange," Felicity agreed. "But I don't know what it could possibly mean. Why would the tour be canceled the day of? It's not like anything was wrong with the set. James didn't mention anything being odd or out of place, so that doesn't make sense at all... Maybe it has something to do with the murder. I mean, the victim was likely killed this morning too, right?"

"I'm sure that it has to have something to do with the murder," Niamh said firmly. "I just wish I knew how to connect the dots between the death of the victim and the cancelation of the tour... There was no notice between yesterday and today, so the crew woke up with intentions of coming down here only to be told not to bother at the last minute."

"And the message was sent to everyone aside from James... I feel like that was deliberate for sure," I nodded. "The radio station never told us that the tour was being canceled, so we would have come down here and waited until something happened only to be stuck here all day if James hadn't been informed... I find it odd that only James showed up to the tour."

"Me too," Felicity chirped. "He was the only one who didn't receive the message about the tour being canceled, and then the body was found in his dressing room. I feel like that's a weird connection, and it's a bit too important to this case to be passed off as coincidence. Besides, James has no motive, so why would he kill the victim? He said himself during the tour that the cast and crew were like family to him, and lashing out at someone he cared so much about... It just doesn't feel right."

"I agree that there has to be something more to it, but we won't have any evidence until we can get into one of the three locked parts of this case," I sighed. "We need to either find the gun, get into the director's office, or find a way to unlock his phone. I'm sure that the police are trying to get into the phone as well as the office, and the search for the gun is undoubtedly already underway. Sora said that she's been trying to find it ever since she got here, after all."

"The gun was on the smaller side, tiny enough to be easily concealed if that was what the culprit wanted to do," Sora commented. "That means that we're going to have a few problems trying to find it... I know that it wouldn't make any sense for the culprit to leave something large at the scene of the crime, but it would certainly make our jobs easier. There's no way for us to find that stupid gun as it is right now."

"We'll just have to keep searching," Niamh remarked. "You two said that you were going to be heading down to the detention center to talk to James... I think you should go on and get to that. We'll be able to handle things here. It was good talking to you."

I smiled and waved to her in response. "You too," I said. She seemed to be more at ease today compared to past cases, and it was rather nice, I had to admit. Of course, I wasn't going to say this out in the open and risk embarrassing her, so I chose to keep my thoughts to myself as Felicity and I navigated our way out of the building. 

"I feel like this news is already spreading like mad online," Felicity commented once we were outside. "The star of a famous television show winding up behind bars as a suspect for the murder of someone on the cast... It's not something that others would want to pass up on reporting about."

"It's all the more reason for us to find out who did kill the victim. If we can bring them to justice, James will be released," I pointed out. "Of course, we can't slack off in that task at all. We have a lot left to do, after all."

"And at the top of our list is talking to him at the detention center," Felicity concluded. "Let's get right to it."

With that said, we were off to the detention center. I couldn't help but frown most of the way there, wondering what we could do from there about the case. It seemed like each avenue of investigation had been cut off to us, and I was starting to wonder which was the most likely out of unlocking a room, getting past a phone password, or finding a tiny gun in a giant set. The possibilities gave me a headache less than a minute later, and I prayed that we got at least a bit lucky in figuring out one of them as soon as possible. 

**August 6**

**Detention Center**

**3:20 PM**

**Anton Burke**

I don't know how long I was sitting in the detention center for James to get out of questioning, but I got really anxious after waiting for a while. Yuri wasn't doing any better from her place next to me, and she kept on pulling out her phone and looking at the news before tucking it away and repeating the cycle a few minutes later. I looked over at once to see that she was trying to find out more about James' reputation regarding the arrest, and I suspected that she was looking it up over and over out of curiosity and nerves. I couldn't blame her. I was worried too. 

The door to the visiting room opened, and I turned to see Chrysalis and Ms. Amaya walk inside. Chrysalis gave us a wave before speaking. "It's good to see that you two are doing alright," she said kindly before walking to the wall. She pulled up a chair and placed it in front of the glass beside me. Ms. Amaya did the same, but her chair sat on the other side of Yuri. 

"We've been waiting for James to get out of questioning, but he hasn't been able to come and see us yet," Yuri explained with a heavy sigh. "Chrysalis, you're so lucky. You get to work on the defense for this case, but I have to be a witness. I really don't see why I have to be the one to testify. I just want to be able to help him out, but I can't do that now."

"You were the one who spoke to the investigators first about what happened, and Anton is there to corroborate your story. It was inevitable, I'm afraid," I told her with a small shrug. "Besides, you're going to be able to hang out here to see him during the second day of the investigation while Felicity and I have to go and see how everything is going down at the studios."

"There's going to be a second day?" I asked her, my eyes going wide. "What makes you so sure of that?" I reached out one hand to take Chrysalis' in my own, squeezing my fingers gently around hers. 

Chrysalis looked down at the place where our hands connected with a small yet shaky smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by the sound of a door opening nearby. We both looked up to see that the door on the other side of the glass had been pushed open, and James was being escorted inside slowly. 

James took his seat, a smile on his face the whole way. I could see the way his grin wavered at the edges though, and I frowned immediately. He deserved better than this. He clearly didn't do it, so why was he being treated like a suspect? 

"I didn't expect to have so many visitors," James commented with a smile. "In all honesty, I'm honored. You'll have to tell me what brings you to this place." He shifted his attention to Felicity next, his smile starting to slip soon after. "I don't think that we've met. You'll have to introduce yourself."

"This is Felicity. She's going to be working with me to free you of the charges that have been placed on your shoulders," Chrysalis replied simply. "We work for a law agency along with Yuri, and we're going to be defending you when this case goes to court tomorrow. I hope that's alright with you."

James' smile somehow only grew wider, and it seemed far more genuine and sincere than before. "Yeah, that's incredible!" he cried. "I didn't expect you to work for a law agency... You should have said something before now. I would have loved to hear about that. I've always been rather interested in that sort of thing."

I couldn't hide the shock that appeared on my face. "Really?" I asked. The difference between acting and law was pretty large, and I never would have expected him to be intrigued by both. Then again, he did seem to be the type to be full of surprises. 

James nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes, but I doubt you want to hear about that right now. I know that a few of you came from the crime scene, so... I want to know what you've figured out about my case," he said, and his smile was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. I wanted to make him grin like that again, but I didn't know how, so I sat back silently as Felicity and Chrysalis began to explain. 

"We were trying to figure out what had happened at the time of the crime, and we've managed to determine that something odd happened at the time of the murder," Felicity began. "We learned that the window in the victim's room had been broken around the time of the crime, and it was covered up with another piece of furniture. Unfortunately, the room is locked, and we can't exactly ram the door down without risking destroying anything at the scene."

"That's a tricky one," James nodded. "The only one with a key to Mr. Rector's room was Mr. Rector himself. He had a keyring with keys to every door in the studio, but I don't know where it could have disappeared to. I doubt that getting into his room would be a problem if everyone knew where the keyring was."

"You're right in that we don't know where the keyring is," Chrysalis admitted. "But we also know that the culprit wasn't part of the cast or crew. They would have known how to properly use the keyring if that was the case, but we have evidence to suggest that wasn't the case. They were restricted to wandering around the rooms in the building on their own while the door to the costume area was locked."

"It makes a lot more sense in context, to say the least," Felicity chimed in. "Still, that's not very important right now. I want to know how you've been holding up. I know that this sort of thing is difficult to deal with. I've been in your shoes before, after all."

A shudder rose up from the group, and I looked at everyone else in the row of chairs outside he glass. All of us had been arrested at some point, as a matter of fact. I could tell that they all agreed with Felicity in that it wasn't easy to put up with. I know that I certainly did. I was only seventeen when I was arrested for a crime, and it was beyond upsetting to deal with. 

James shrugged. "I'm going to find a way to power through. Even if it's difficult, I'm going to press on. I trust that you'll be able to help me out of this dark situation... You have to be good at your jobs. I overheard someone saying that my lawyers work at Morix Law Offices, and even if I didn't know that it was you two, I'm fully aware of how good that team is," he told us. 

Chrysalis' smile widened with pride. "I'm glad that you've heard of us... You must be pretty curious in legal affairs like you said," she commented before shrugging. "Still, I suppose that you want to hear more about the case... That's what we came down here to do, after all."

James nodded. "You mentioned that it's impossible to get into Mr. Rector's room at this point in time... Do you think that there's something inside that will make it easier for you to find the truth?" he questioned. 

"We do," Felicity confirmed. "Of course, it's going to take a bit more work to get in there and figure out just what the room is hiding, but we're going to try our best. The murder weapon and the keyring have both gone missing, I'm afraid. We found a footprint in the makeup that was spilled on the floor in your room, but we aren't sure who it could belong to yet."

"Then there's the matter of the covered area involving your clothing rack," Chrysalis remarked, placing her other hand, the one that I wasn't holding onto, against her chin. "We learned that there was clothing placed along the bottom of it from other rooms in the studio, but we can't say why that is. The culprit could have been trying to hide that area from us, but we aren't sure of what they're keeping secret at this point, and it's going to be difficult to figure that out, I'm afraid."

"I trust Mukuro with it," Yuri shrugged. "She mentioned that she was going to be the detective on this case before letting us come by here, and if you told her about this, which I'm sure that you did, then I doubt there's anything to worry about. She knows what she's doing."

"You know us too well," Chrysalis commented with a light smile before looking back to James. "The point is that we're struggling to get into the director's room at the moment. We also can't get into his phone, which is already proving to be a bit of a problem. We suspect that there was foul play behind the cancelation of the tour."

James' eyes went wide. "You... You think so?" he asked. "But what do you think happened? As far as I'm aware, somebody tried to cancel the tour, but I was left off the list by complete accident. You think it's more than that?"

"We do," Felicity replied. "Think about it. You were the only member of the cast or crew to show up for the tour, and when you do, the body is found in your dressing room. It seems to me like the perfect chance to frame you for the crime. Besides, you already supposedly mentioned how much the cast and crew mean to you, so why would you kill the victim? Even if you did do it, you wouldn't leave the body in your dressing room."

"Everything that we did earlier today was at your command," Yuri pointed out. "You wouldn't take us by your dressing room if you were hiding a body inside. That wouldn't make any sense. Instead, somebody probably dropped it off in there as a way of trying to frame you. Of course, they didn't realize that we were going to figure out each part of their devious little scheme."

I couldn't help but cringe at Yuri's words. She was right in that the tour had just been earlier in the day, but it was almost hard to believe. After all, so much had happened, and I felt as if it had been at least ten years since we walked around the set while following James around. The murder really had distorted my perception of time, and I didn't like it at all. 

"We caught all of your talk about caring for the cast and crew on camera too," Chrysalis pointed out. "Think about it. There was a cameraman from the radio walking us around the area, and we were able to have him record the entire tour. That includes our encounter with the body."

"I wonder if he's going to be called as a witness," Yuri commented before shrugging. "I suppose that it doesn't matter all that much. We're going to figure it out sooner or later, and when we do find the truth, it probably won't impact the case in the long run. After all, he was hanging out with us the whole time, and he saw the exact same scene that we did."

"This cameraman really did get everything on tape, huh..." Felicity muttered. "I think that we're going to have to talk to him at some point about what happened. Even if he didn't see anything new, it wouldn't hurt to at least ask him about it."

"We'll inevitably run into him in the future," Chrysalis assured me. "I mean, we're going to wind up with a second day of investigation at this rate. If we can't get into the director's room, there's no way for us to find the truth behind this case. The fact that the window is blocked off seems like perfect evidence that something was wrong in his room, and we have to figure out who could have broken that window."

"The fact that the window is broken could play right into our hands," Felicity commented. "I mean, why would James break the window of the director's office when he has a key to get into the building? Even if he was trying to get into the director's room specifically, it seems a bit weird. Why not just wait for the director to come around? I don't get it at all. It seems to me like the police's logic is already showing some serious flaws."

"We don't need to understand it though. All we have to do is disprove it," Chrysalis pointed out before looking back to James. "I think that's all we learned today. I apologize that it couldn't have been a bit more, but there you have it. Is there anything else you're curious about?"

James shook his head. "I have faith that you'll be able to handle it," he assured her. "After all, your agency has gained quite the reputation over the past few years or so, and I trust that you'll be able to handle my case with ease. You already seem to have it all under control, and I'm willing to trust your judgement there."

"Thank you," Felicity beamed. She pushed herself out of her chair before Chrysalis did the same from a few seats down. "We're going to head out now. Sorry to leave you like this, but I want to do some planning before the trial starts. There's a lot waiting for us tomorrow, after all, and we wouldn't want to be caught by surprise."

We waved farewell to Felicity and Chrysalis as the pair walked from the room, and I watched them go before turning my attention back to James. I smiled to myself and looked over to Yuri before speaking. "J-James... How would you like t-to talk about something a bit happier?" I proposed. 

"You know, as a way of distracting yourself," Yuri followed up. "I think it would do you some good. The detention center is a draining place, and we'd be more than happy to help make it a bit less miserable."

James smiled in response. "That would be lovely," he replied, and that was all he needed to say before Yuri and I launched into another conversation with him. He grinned the whole way through, and by the time we were finished, I was absolutely positive of one thing. 

James was absolutely amazing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I was still asleep it's too early for this stuff
> 
> -Digital


	24. Turnabout Live, Part 4

**August 7**

**Defendant Lobby No. 4**

**9:30 AM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

The night came and went, and Cotoli dropped me off at the courthouse early the next morning. I yawned on my way in, shuffling over to the couch on the opposite side of the defendant lobby. To put it simply, I didn't sleep well the night before, and I didn't know if I would be able to fight in the courtroom adequately. Still, that didn't mean I wasn't going to try. It was the least I could do for the sake of James, Anton, Yuri, and everyone else who was counting on me to win a not guilty verdict for James. No matter how utterly crummy I felt, I was going to try my best. It's just how I am. 

The reason for my general feelings of nastiness could be blamed on the murder, as a matter of fact. To the surprise of no one, seeing a dead body might not be the best thing to remember when you're trying to sleep. No matter how exhausted I got, I couldn't find a way to push myself off to sleep, and it was an absolute nightmare to deal with. I didn't want to bother Cotoli, who has a sleeping schedule that's just as irregular as mine, so I just sat in the darkness for hours while staring up at the ceiling. I was glad to have the ability to apply my thoughts to how I would help to solve the crime rather than just thinking about how uninvolved I was, but I still felt awful about it all. 

In our branch of work, you'd expect us to be used to seeing bodies. Still, no matter how many times it happens, I still feel terrible and nauseous when something does happen. I hate seeing people in pain, and there's nothing I can do for people who have died, so all I can do is sit by and think about it. 

I instinctively looked over at the door in desperation, praying that Felicity would come in soon and break through my darker thoughts about the night before. I took in a slow, careful breath just to make sure I didn't forget how to breathe in my stress. Oh, boy, this was going to be one of those miserable days. 

Instead of seeing Felicity by the door though, I saw her just off to my left. I instinctively jumped and let out a yell, curling up over myself and clapping my hands over my mouth out of surprise. I cringed at my own dramatic reaction before letting out a sigh. "Morning," I greeted simply. 

"Someone's jumpy today," Felicity commented before sliding onto the couch beside me. She set both of her arms against the backrest of the couch, and I leaned forward before cupping my face in my hands. My eyes slipped shut as I nodded in response. I couldn't really bring myself to say much of anything else, so I didn't bother trying. As long as I was able to hold myself together in the courtroom, I was going to be alright. 

Yuri and Anton suddenly came walking over to me. Even if my eyes were shut, I was able to tell that they were there. Yuri's footsteps were incredibly distinctive even among the general cacophony of the defendant's lobby. There were lots of people coming by to see James' trial because of his celebrity status, but I still managed to pull out Yuri and Anton's familiar sounds. I pried my head away from my hands before looking up at them, sighing once again before painting a smile on my face. I didn't want to worry Anton, and he would certainly notice if I hadn't slept well the night before. I didn't want to bother him either, so I grinned up at both of them as if that would make everything better. 

"Do you think you're going to be able to help James out?" Anton questioned, though I realized belatedly that the inquiry was directed at Felicity rather than me. I was relieved for such, to say the least, as I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to answer him without wavering at least a little bit. I've always been pretty good at lying, but there's only so much I can manage to hide before I just start to fall apart. 

Felicity, however, had no such reservations, and she grinned at Anton firmly. "There's nothing for you to worry about! Everything is going to be perfectly okay. We're going to show everyone that he would never kill anyone, and then he's going to be freed from the detention center. There's not enough evidence for anyone to say that he could have killed the victim, and we're going to take advantage of that," she assured him. She reached out one hand and placed it on his shoulder as she continued to smile at him. 

"Yeah! Everything is going to be okay," Yuri chimed in. I could tell that she was grinning as well, and I couldn't help but smile in response. Her positive attitude most certainly was infectious, especially on my worst of days. 

Anton looked back and forth between Felicity and Yuri before smiling and nodding to himself. He pulled Yuri into a hug a few seconds later, and she was more than happy to return the gesture a few moments later. I grinned at the exchange, but something else soon caught my attention. 

I saw a familiar flash of blonde hair from the entrance of the defendant lobby, and I was left cringing at the explosion of camera lights that followed. James slowly managed to worm his way through the rest of the room to wind up at Anton's side, and he was smiling tiredly when our eyes met. It seemed that he hadn't had a much better night than me, and I couldn't help but feel for him. After all, the detention center is a nasty place, and it's never been easy to sleep there. 

"We're going to prove your innocence," Felicity said quickly. "Everything is going to be alright. I promise you." She was smiling brightly in James' direction, and I had to admit that I was impressed with her optimism. Even at such an early point in the morning, she was able to keep a smile on her face. 

"I have faith in you," James replied, nodding to both me and Felicity. "If there's anything that you need from me along the way, all you need to do is ask. I owe you both a great debt, and this is the very least I can do for you to make this courtroom battle easier."

"We've got everything under control," I told him. I opened my mouth to say more, but I was cut off when the bailiff let out a cry to call us into the courtroom. I cringed at the piercing sound before letting out a sigh and pushing myself to my feet. My body was firmly against the action, but I still went for it. 

"Looks like that's our cue," Felicity grinned. "We're going to take care of everything now, so there's nothing for you three to worry about. We trust that you'll be able to handle yourselves on the stand, and we're going to use your testimony to show that James didn't do it. Now, how about we get on in there to take care of everything that requires our attention at the moment?"

James, Yuri, and Anton all nodded their agreement before turning towards the courtroom doors. As soon as their backs were turned, I let out a quick sigh, not wanting to demoralize them but needing to release some of the tension building steadily within my chest. Felicity clapped a hand against my back, and I nearly stumbled forward. An awkward laugh left my lips as I recovered my balance, and Felicity giggled in response. She gently guided me towards the courtroom's doors, and I was all too happy to let her push me in the right direction. The time had come for action, and I couldn't allow my own nerves and exhaustion to get the best of me when James was counting on us to prove that he was innocent. 

We were going to win. We had to. 

**August 7**

**Defendant Lobby No. 4**

**10:00 AM**

**Felicity Amaya**

As Chrysalis got settled into our place behind the defense bench, I glanced around the rest of the courtroom with a small smile on my face. I saw Prosecutor Lin standing with Prosecutor Wood on the other side of the room. The older of the two figures was obviously far more optimistic about what was to come. Prosecutor Wood, on the other hand, could barely keep herself still from nerves, shifting with papers constantly. I didn't think there was much of a point to her actions, suspecting instead that she was only doing it because it gave her something to focus on aside from the trial to come. Still, given how anxious she seemed, I wasn't going to stop her. 

The judge at the top of the courtroom was Eriko Frost, and she had her gavel in one hand. Her expression was just as hardened as it always had been, and she watched as James took his place behind the witness stand for the opening segment of the trial. 

Just before her gavel came down, I stole a glance at Chrysalis, who released a yawn before settling her expression into something solemn. I could tell a mile away that she hadn't slept all that well the night before the trial, though I couldn't blame her for having troubles in the slightest. I would probably struggle to settle down for the night if I had found a dead body seemingly out of nowhere the day before too. 

Judge Frost hit her gavel against the bench before her, and I looked up at her carefully as she spoke. "Court is now in session for the trial of James Devine," she declared. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

Prosecutor Lin answered without a moment of hesitation, and she placed a hand on Prosecutor Wood's shoulder. As soon as she did, the younger girl went tense before her shoulders relaxed and she fell still. "The prosecution is ready," Prosecutor Lin declared as soon as her coworker was calmed down. 

"The defense is also ready," I confirmed without even bothering to look over at Chrysalis. I knew exactly what her answer was going to be when I asked, so I simply went ahead with telling the court that we were prepared. 

Judge Frost nodded before looking at the gallery of the courtroom. "Before we get any further, I would like everyone here to be aware that there will be no shenanigans tolerated as long as this trial is going on. We are here to discuss what happened the day of the crime, not to take pictures for a magazine or gossip website. Thank you," she announced. I could already hear the irritation in her voice, and I was thankful that her harsh tone wasn't directed at me. 

When I looked up at the gallery, I saw exactly why she had felt the need to address this subject. Nearly all of the people in the gallery were carrying cameras, notepads, or phones. They were undoubtedly there because of who the defendant was, and I couldn't hold back my frustrated sigh in response. They really didn't have any sensitivity, huh? 

I shouldn't have been surprised by this, and yet, I still found myself disappointed by how humanity managed to let me down again. There was nothing I could do about it aside from prove James' innocence, but I still found myself glaring up at one of the particularly large cameras. When I looked over at Chrysalis, I saw that she was doing the same, leaning over with her palms pressed against the defense bench before us as she waited for the cameras to be switched off. When nothing happened, her scowl only deepened. 

"Now, how about we get started with the trial?" Judge Frost questioned. She looked over to the prosecution with a frown. "Prosecution, please give your opening statement about what happened at the time of the crime."

Prosecutor Wood nodded. She had settled in her constant shifting motions, staring down at one piece of paper in particular on the bench before her. She took in a deep breath before starting to speak. "The crime took place at Lady Bird Studios, and the victim was Dire Rector, the director of the TV show that the defendant has starred in for the past two years or so," she began. "He was shot in the side of the head, and he died instantly. We've got an autopsy report that says he died early in the morning the day of a guided tour that was being held as part of a deal with a local radio station."

Judge Frost nodded as Prosecutor Wood continued to speak. "The only person to show up for the tour was the defendant, and he walked around with the people who had come on behalf of the radio station. One of those involved was a cameraman who caught the discovery of the body on camera. The victim was found in the dressing room of the defendant, but we suspect that he was moved there after being killed elsewhere due to the lack of blood in the area," she went on. 

I was shocked out of my listening trance when I saw Mukuro appear at my side. She had the autopsy report in one hand, and I realized that she had been sent to give us a copy of it. Chrysalis nodded to her as Mukuro returned to her place with the other witnesses of the case until she was called upon. 

I slowly opened the envelope as Prosecutor Wood continued her opening statement. I didn't look at the autopsy report in detail, trusting that what she was saying was honest. "We aren't sure of where the victim died, but we can say that his body was uncovered in the defendant's dressing room. All of the rooms in the studio were unlocked aside from one, and that room just so happens to be his office. We suspect that there's something inside that would reveal the truth behind where he died, but we can't say for sure until we're able to get in."

"We've been trying to get into the office since the police arrived at the scene," Prosecutor Lin explained. "Of course, we haven't found success with this yet, but as soon as we're able to get through the locked door, we're going to look around and see if there's anything notable that would prove where the victim was killed."

"Thank you, prosecution," Judge Frost declared. She looked over to Prosecutor Lin and Prosecutor Wood after she had finished speaking. "I believe the time has come for you to summon your first witness. Please summon the first person you would like to have speak to us as soon as possible."

Prosecutor Lin nodded before smiling up to the witness stand. "Head on up there, detective," she declared, snapping her fingers gently. Something about her was simply captivating, and I could certainly understand how she had come to get the attention of so may people. 

Mukuro appeared behind the witness stand soon afterwards, a smile on her face. She looked up to Judge Frost as the latter prompted her to state her name and occupation for the court before offering a reply. "I'm Mukuro Erikson, and I'm a detective-in-training at the local precinct," she explained. 

"Please testify about the details of the case," Judge Frost instructed sternly. She watched Mukuro with serious eyes. 

In response, Mukuro smiled and nodded, seemingly unbothered by the pressure that was already being dumped upon her shoulders. "I'd be happy to."

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Case's Details ~**

_-"The murder took place in the Lady Bird Studios the same day as a tour was taking place."_

_-"The winner of a local radio raffle got to enter the studios and meet the cast, but it didn't turn out that way."_

_-"Only the star of the show wound up showing at the studios from the tour, and the rest of the cast stayed at home."_

_-"The body was found in the defendant's dressing room at the studios, but we suspect it was likely moved."_

_-"We aren't entirely sure how the body could have been moved, but there wasn't enough blood at the scene for him to have been killed there."_

_-"Someone being shot in the head causes quite a bit of bloodshed, and yet, there's nothing there... It's suspicious."_

_-"There's nothing that we have in mind regarding the events of the crime and the body's movement... Maybe there will be a clue in the locked office."_

As soon as the testimony was over, I frowned and looked up to Mukuro. "Out of curiosity... Were you able to get results on the metal clothing rack that we found yesterday?" I questioned, tilting my head slightly to the side. 

"Clothing rack?" Judge Frost echoed with a frown. She watched me interrogatively, and I could tell she was wondering about what I was talking about even before she said anything. 

"There was a clothing rack found in the defendant's dressing room, but we noticed that it had articles of clothing from many random rooms around the studios. We found that to be rather suspicious, and we were wondering if perhaps that specific area had been hidden on purpose," I explained. 

Mukuro nodded. "As a matter of fact, there was something that the rack was hiding... We found some blood on the side of the rack, and we suspect that the victim was near the rack at some point," she explained. 

I looked over to Chrysalis, who nodded at me. I got the feeling she had come to the same conclusion that I had, and all of a sudden, everything was starting to slip right into place. I looked up to Mukuro with a smile. "Could you please repeat your testimony for the cross-examination?" I questioned. 

Mukuro nodded. "Of course."

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Case's Details ~**

_-"The murder took place in the Lady Bird Studios the same day as a tour was taking place."_

_-"The winner of a local radio raffle got to enter the studios and meet the cast, but it didn't turn out that way."_

_-"Only the star of the show wound up showing at the studios from the tour, and the rest of the cast stayed at home."_

_-"The body was found in the defendant's dressing room at the studios, but we suspect it was likely moved."_

_-"We aren't entirely sure how the body could have been moved, but there wasn't enough blood at the scene for him to have been killed there."_

_-"Someone being shot in the head causes quite a bit of bloodshed, and yet, there's nothing there... It's suspicious."_

_-"There's nothing that we have in mind regarding the events of the crime and the body's movement... Maybe there will be a clue in the locked office."_

"Objection!"

"I believe that I've figured out exactly how the body was moved," I declared, a smirk on my lips as I crossed my arms. 

"Then how was the body moved?" Mukuro questioned with a light frown. 

"The clothing rack had blood on it, and if the body was moved, the culprit would likely want to use something with wheels to make the process easier," I pointed out. "Moving the body on their own could be problematic, so why not use the clothing rack? We saw that it has wheels yesterday. The culprit wiped away the blood after they were finished moving the body, and then a bunch of random clothing from other dressing rooms was thrown on the rack to make it seem as if there was nothing there. The killer was trying to hide it from being tested by Luminol."

"Of course, that didn't work out in the end," Chrysalis commented from my side. "We were able to figure out everything rather easily... This does beg the question of where the victim was really killed though. There has to be a sign around here to prove to us exactly where the gun was used to shoot the victim."

"If you want my opinion, I'd still say that the victim was killed in the director's office," Mukuro declared. "I mean, it would be totally possible for him to have been shot in there before the door was blockaded. Why would the killer be trying to hard to keep us from getting inside? There's got to be something on the other side of that door."

"You should return to the crime scene," Prosecutor Lin suddenly commented with a frown. "As soon as you're able to get into the room of the victim, you should return here and tell us of the update. We need to know as soon as possible so that we can continue our investigation."

"If there's no way to get into the victim's office now, we should prepare to adjourn court for a second day," Judge Frost declared. "As it is, there's no way to say conclusively that any one person did it. However, we will want to hear as much testimony as possible from the witnesses that we do have gathered. It would be pointless for us to adjourn the trial now without getting anything done to work towards the truth."

"Check that out. We've already got ourselves cleared for another day of investigation," Chrysalis hissed from beside me as she nudged at my side with her elbow. "I'd certainly say that plays into our favor, but we had best be careful with it. There's only so much we're going to be able to do, and if we push her patience, it could hurt us in the long run."

I nodded my understanding before closing my eyes. I heard footsteps to indicate that Mukuro had stepped away from the witness stand. Prosecutor Lin spoke next, and I could hear the smile in her voice even with my eyes shut. "The prosecution would now like to call its first primary witness to the stand. Yuri," she prompted. 

I opened my eyes at the sound of the familiar name, and I watched as Yuri walked up to the stand. She was smiling wearily, trying to keep herself held together in the face of tragedy. I saw her shoot James a kind glance before she settled fully behind the podium. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," instructed Judge Frost sternly. 

Yuri nodded before answering. "I'm Yuri Rinko. I'm a high school student, but I work on the side at Morix Law Offices," she explained. 

"Interesting," Judge Frost commented with a light nod. "You were part of the tour investigating the scene of the crime the day of the murder, yes?"

"Yup!" Yuri chirped. "I went there with a few of my friends since I was the one to win the radio station's raffle. We met up with James there, and we started to look around... I feel like you can put the pieces together on what we figured out from there."

"Why don't you tell the court about everything you saw at the time of the crime?" Sora suggested with a grin. "We'll happily listen to whatever it is you have to say."

"I'll get right to it," Yuri assured her. She snapped her fingers together as she winked in our direction, and I knew that was our cue to do what we could to figure out the truth behind this case. Yuri was counting on us, and I wasn't about to let her, or anyone else who was heavily involved with this case, down. There was too much riding on this victory. The future of _Monsieur Cat_ was at stake!

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Discovery of the Body ~**

_-"The victim was found in the dressing room belonging to James, and we all discovered the body."_

_-"There was a sign in front of the door that told others not to go inside, and James mentioned that he didn't put it there."_

_-"When he opened the door, we saw the victim doubled over on the floor, and I'm sure you can imagine our surprise."_

_-"The entire thing was caught on camera. The radio station sent someone to follow us around for their website, and he saw us discover the body."_

_-"We didn't find much of anything else there at the time, but I do have to say that I found the tour thing odd..."_

_-"I mean, I was happy to spend time with James, but it sort of seems strange that nobody else showed up for something so important..."_

_-"We never heard any alerts about the tour being canceled... I'm not quite sure what this could mean, but I don't like it."_

When I looked over to Chrysalis after Yuri was finished with her testimony, I could see that she was frowning. There was something intense and fiery in her eyes, and I couldn't help but cringe at the sight. She certainly looked lost in thought. 

"There's something weird going on here," she commented. "There just has to be... Then again, I suppose it's our job to prove that's the case, so what are we still doing waiting around for?"

I didn't have an objection to her remark, so I simply shrugged. I heard Judge Frost instruct Yuri to start her testimony over from the start, and I took that as our cue to get started. I looked back to the witness stand and nodded to Yuri. At my gesture, she began to repeat her testimony from the start. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Discovery of the Body ~**

_-"The victim was found in the dressing room belonging to James, and we all discovered the body."_

_-"There was a sign in front of the door that told others not to go inside, and James mentioned that he didn't put it there."_

_-"When he opened the door, we saw the victim doubled over on the floor, and I'm sure you can imagine our surprise."_

_-"The entire thing was caught on camera. The radio station sent someone to follow us around for their website, and he saw us discover the body."_

_-"We didn't find much of anything else there at the time, but I do have to say that I found the tour thing odd..."_

_-"I mean, I was happy to spend time with James, but it sort of seems strange that nobody else showed up for something so important..."_

_-"We never heard any alerts about the tour being canceled... I'm not quite sure what this could mean, but I don't like it."_

"Hold it!"

"Does anyone else find it strange that this crime feels oddly... I don't know... Set up?" I questioned with a frown. Judge Frost tilted her head to the side in curiosity, so I continued. "The victim's body was found in James' dressing room, and he was the only one who showed up at the time of the tour to show everyone around."

"There's something strange happening for sure," Chrysalis confirmed. "Think about it this way. If he had been the culprit, he would have had access to the keys that the victim carried around. He would have known what rooms to take us to, and he would have steered clear of his own dressing room. It simply doesn't make sense. Why would he set it up for all of us to find the body in his dressing room? It would clearly make him a suspect."

"Then there's the matter of the sign sitting outside the room," I commented next. "Why would it be there? James was the only person there, and he wouldn't need to remind himself not to go into his own dressing room if there really was something wrong. If you ask me, there must have been at least one other person there to mess around with everything that was happening at the scene of the crime."

"What could have happened to this person after the tour started?" Prosecutor Lin questioned. "It isn't as if we have any ideas on how someone could have snuck out without being seen by you or anyone else in the tour. Besides, where could they even hide? Even if the set is rather large, they would have certainly been spotted while attempting to flee from the scene of the crime."

"Nobody could be hiding in the director's office. If they tried to hide there, they'd be exposed as soon as the door opens. There's no way for them to escape without being seen, and I'm sure that they're already fully aware of it. I believe that the culprit got away before the tour arrived somehow... We just have to determine their method of escape and when they got away," Chrysalis remarked. 

"I believe it's time for the prosecution to call its next witness," Prosecutor Lin declared. "We can ask our next witness about the camera footage being taken at the scene of the crime. That could give us an idea of what to search for as soon as we have the video on hand for examination."

"Go right ahead," Judge Frost agreed with a firm nod. She looked down to the witness stand, ready to dismiss Yuri, but the young girl didn't need to be cued. 

Yuri started to walk away before Judge Frost could send her away, and I saw her shoot a brief glance over in James' direction. Her eyes bled sympathy, and she took her seat in the area designated for witnesses. I watched her sit before my attention shifted back to the prosecution in preparation for them to get us started on the next step of the trial. 

Prosecutor Lin nudged at her coworker, and Prosecutor Wood frowned before speaking up. Her voice was quiet, but I could still make out the words clearly spoken out of nerves. "The prosecution calls Anton Burke to the stand!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I slept in an extra hour today and that was a mistake
> 
> -Digital


	25. Turnabout Live, Part 5

**August 7**

**Courtroom No. 4**

**12:00 PM**

**Felicity Amaya**

Anton slowly approached the witness stand in the minutes that followed, and I watched him carefully. I had a feeling that he wasn't going to be a fan of getting up to testify. I had met him a few times when he dropped by the agency to visit with Mr. Morix and Chrysalis, and he was far from being a regular boy. He was so nervous all the time, and I had the sneaking suspicion that this wasn't going to sit well with him at all. 

In fact, my worries were being proven. He was fiddling constantly with the hem of his shirt, and his hands couldn't seem to sit still. He glanced over to Chrysalis with wide, liquid eyes, and she gave him a smile as a vote of confidence. He nodded in response, but I don't think that it really did much to help him in the long run. He was ready to fall apart all over again the instant that their eye contact was broken. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost declared, examining Anton with a solemn eye. 

Anton hesitated before nodding. "I-I'm Anton B-Burke... I-I'm a student..." he stammered. I suspected that he wanted to say that he was involved with the Prosecutor's Office, but the words simply weren't coming out for him. Poor thing. 

"Anton was present when the body was discovered, and he was also there when the cameraman arrived on the scene," Chrysalis explained, hopping in just in time to help Anton through his moment of nerves. "We should have him explain everything that he knows about the cameraman's actions the day of the crime. How does that sound?"

"I believe that's a lovely idea," grinned Prosecutor Lin. She looked over to Prosecutor Wood, who nodded her agreement. Prosecutor Wood looked just as nervous as Anton did, but she was hiding her anxiety far better. She seemed to have experience with appearing as if everything is fine regardless of how nervous she was. I made a mental note to catch up with her when I got the chance to talk to her about the case. Maybe she would feel better after being given the chance to speak with somebody about everything that's happened already. 

Anton looked around the courtroom anxiously, and he looked more like a deer caught in the headlights than a young boy. His gaze eventually flew up to Judge Frost as he continued fiddling nervously with his clothing. "Um... Should I-I start t-talking now...?" he questioned. 

Judge Frost nodded. "Yes. Please tell the court everything that you know about the cameraman and the video that he captured at the time of the body's discovery," she instructed, stern yet gentle. 

Anton looked over to Chrysalis once again, and she gave him a thumbs-up and a gentle smile. He nodded upon seeing that she still believed in him, and he took in a slow, careful breath before exhaling. "Alright... I-I'll do my best!"

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Cameraman and His Video ~**

_-"The c-cameraman said his n-name was Lucas G-Gassman... He met us o-outside of the s-set just b-before we went inside..."_

_-"When we got i-inside, he just f-followed us around... H-He didn't say anything, m-maybe because he was f-focused on trying to record the v-video..."_

_-"We l-looked around most of the s-set with the help of J-James, and he was there with us the w-whole time... I don't think h-he ever left us alone, a-as a matter of fact..."_

_-"When the b-body was found, h-he was at the back of the g-group, but he was s-still there. I-I bet that he got i-it all on video, and w-we can look at it soon..."_

_-"H-He had a lot of c-complicated equipment, I-I remember... He didn't s-say what it was f-for, but he only s-seemed to be using the c-camera in his h-hands..."_

_-"I-I don't know a-all that much a-about r-recording video or anything, b-but I thought there was a l-lot of unnecessary stuff there... M-Maybe I'm just b-being silly..."_

After Anton's testimony was finished, I was left frowning, and I turned to look over at Chrysalis. She seemed to be just as curious about our next step as I was, and I couldn't help but cringe at how that was not a good sign. We were bound to figure it out sooner or later, but it was still upsetting to know that she didn't have any ideas. 

"The witness suffers from anxiety, so we would request that nobody pushes him too hard," Prosecutor Lin explained gently. "He's under a lot of pressure just by being here, and we would like him to take care of himself first and foremost."

Judge Frost nodded her understanding. "Of course. Defense, are you ready to begin the cross-examination?" she questioned. She shifted her gaze to both me and Chrysalis, and I could tell that she was making sure that we had heard Prosecutor Lin's warning regarding Anton's anxiety. 

I nodded in response before looking over to Chrysalis. "Is there anything that stuck out to you during all of that?" I questioned. "Because I really didn't see anything that's all that weird... I mean, he was super nervous and fidgety, but I think that's just how he is."

Chrysalis nodded as confirmation. "Anton suffers from anxiety like Sora just said, so we have to be careful about pushing him too hard. In all honesty, I don't think that there's much we can do with his testimony until we get our hands on the camera footage, but there is one thing we can ask about... I want to know more about the equipment that the cameraman was carrying," she told me. 

"You were there when the body was discovered... Did anything about it strike you as odd?" I asked, tilting my head to the side in curiosity. 

Chrysalis hesitated before shrugging. "At first, I didn't think there was anything off about it, but now that Anton mentions it, there was a lot of equipment there that I don't think was necessary, and he seems to have noticed it. I don't remember exactly what equipment the cameraman was carrying at the time, but Anton definitely noticed. If we can ask him about what he thought was odd, then we can use it to our advantage. Maybe there's something involving Mr. Gassman that we can use."

"I doubt that he caught himself on camera during the sweep of the set, so that means all we can do is ask for testimony about how he looked at the time," I agreed with a nod. "Alright. Let's get right into this." I shifted my attention back to where Anton was standing before gesturing for him to repeat his testimony. He nodded slowly before speaking once more. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Cameraman and His Video ~**

_-"The c-cameraman said his n-name was Lucas G-Gassman... He met us o-outside of the s-set just b-before we went inside..."_

_-"When we got i-inside, he just f-followed us around... H-He didn't say anything, m-maybe because he was f-focused on trying to record the v-video..."_

_-"We l-looked around most of the s-set with the help of J-James, and he was there with us the w-whole time... I don't think h-he ever left us alone, a-as a matter of fact..."_

_-"When the b-body was found, h-he was at the back of the g-group, but he was s-still there. I-I bet that he got i-it all on video, and w-we can look at it soon..."_

_-"H-He had a lot of c-complicated equipment, I-I remember... He didn't s-say what it was f-for, but he only s-seemed to be using the c-camera in his h-hands..."_

_-"I-I don't know a-all that much a-about r-recording video or anything, b-but I thought there was a l-lot of unnecessary stuff there... M-Maybe I'm just b-being silly..."_

"Hold it!"

"Was there anything that stuck out about the cameraman's equipment? Were you able to pick out anything in particular that was in the chaos?" I asked, praying with everything I had that his answer would be a positive one. 

Anton hesitated before shaking his head. "N-Not really... It l-looked like a hitchhiker's b-backpack though... It was r-really tall, and a-all sorts of s-stuff was practically f-falling out of it. I-I don't know e-exactly what all of it was m-meant to do, but... There was a l-lot of it."

I looked over to Chrysalis for confirmation, and she sighed before nodding. "He's right, as much as I hate to say it. There's really not anything that stuck out to me, but the bag was an absolute mess. It was enough to catch your attention for a moment, but since we were busy with other things, it wasn't as if we could afford to stare for too long. I feel like we'd just need to look over the bag again if we were really going to get a good idea of all that was there, but who's to say that it's even in the same condition as it was when we found the body yesterday?" she replied. 

"I-I remember that there was s-some black stuff in it... I-It was sleek and b-black. I-I don't even think that e-everything was able to f-fit on the bag w-without hanging off something e-else. There was j-just a lot of random s-stuff, but I don't know what m-most of it was for..." Anton murmured. 

"There are a lot of supplies involving video recording that are black, so I suppose that color at least makes sense," I commented, placing one hand on my chin. "Still, even if it makes sense, that... I don't know how to describe it... Something about it bothers me, to be honest. I feel like we need a picture of the bag or to find a way to examine it in person before we can let this go."

"Worst case scenario, it turns out to just be a random bag full of miscellaneous recording equipment. Best case scenario, it has a clue for us inside," Chrysalis agreed with a nod. "Given how large and clunky it was, I know that I wouldn't be surprised if he wound up running into something or if something got caught on his bag that he wound up pulling around with him. The bag was an absolute mess, and it's basically impossible to figure out any details about it without a photo."

"We'll have to see if you're given the chance to examine the bag in the future then," Prosecutor Lin declared with a light, easy smile. "We won't be able to say for sure what happened with the bag until we're able to check it out for ourselves, after all."

"Is there anything else that we think demands our immediate attention?" I questioned, looking over to Chrysalis with a frown. "I don't know if I want to keep Anton here for any longer than we have to. He looks absolutely miserable here."

"Perhaps the witness should step down for the time being. All of our previous questions regarding the discovery of the body were already answered with the help of the last witness, and I don't think that it's a good idea for him to stay here any longer than he absolutely has to," Chrysalis declared, looking up at Judge Frost as she spoke. She stole a brief glance to Anton, and my heart broke when she did. The poor thing looked absolutely terrible, and I felt awful for him having to be in a courtroom given how terrified he was. 

"We don't have any further questions to ask him either," Prosecutor Lin agreed. Prosecutor Wood nodded from her side while looking over to Anton, and I saw him give them both a glance of extreme relief when he realized what we were trying to do. 

Judge Frost nodded her understanding. "Of course. If the witness wishes to step down, he may do so at this time," she announced. 

Anton nodded to Judge Frost. "Thank y-you!" he stammered before dashing off to the safety of the witness bench. When he arrived, he was met with a smile from Yuri, and I was relieved to see the way that his entire body sagged with gratitude that his testimony was over. 

"I believe that we should take this time now to discuss the fact that only a few people arrived at the scene of the crime for the tour," Prosecutor Lin declared. "I personally think that there must have been some odd interference at the time given how only a few hours of notice were given to those who were meant to show up. The radio wasn't even told about the cancellation of the tour, and the lack of notice is incredibly strange. The fact that the defendant didn't receive this information is suspicious as well since the body was found in his dressing room."

"You suspect that someone else cancelled the tour somehow," Judge Frost commented with a frown. "I suppose this is feasible given the circumstances, but I doubt that there is any evidence to confirm this suspicion at the moment."

"Maybe not yet, but as soon as we're able to get into the director's office, we'll be able to check his computer. If we can get into his phone, we'll be able to see about his emails as well, and that might just be all that we need," Prosecutor Lin suggested with a shrug. 

"The other members of the cast who didn't show up at the time said that they received an email from the director to say that he didn't want them to come, but... I still find that to be odd," Prosecutor Wood muttered. "I feel like the director would have given them more notice, and sending out such an important message by email is strange. After all, many of the stars in the show are on the younger side, so would they really check their email each day?"

"I bet one of them got the message and then passed it on to the rest, but I do agree that it's rather strange," Prosecutor Lin nodded. "What I think we're learning now is that nearly everything that we have yet to uncover regarding this case is locked behind one of three different doors."

"There's the literal door of the director's office that went missing at the time of the crime. We need to get into the victim's phone as well, and that's our second problem. The lack of a murder weapon is keeping us from getting any further as well, and there really isn't anything that we can use to find out more as long as those three walls are blocking our path," I commented. 

"That's not exactly true," Chrysalis piped in. "Think back to the crime scene, will you? There was a footprint in the spilled makeup just beside the body. We already agreed that the footprint must have been made by somebody with that specific shoe size since if anyone wore shoes that were too much larger, they would have undoubtedly slipped due to the spilled powder. If we can find out who had that shoe size or wore those shoes, we could find our perpetrator."

"You make a good point," I nodded. "The powder was likely spilled when the culprit was trying to move the body using the rack. Maybe they bumped it while still positioning the clothing rack, and it dropped onto the floor behind them. From there, they set up the body to be discovered when James arrived to lead the tour, but they stepped in it on the way out of the room. That would make a lot of sense, and it explains how the powder fell over."

"That's all true," Prosecutor Lin agreed. "We've been trying to find out more about who those footprints could belong to, but... I'm afraid that we've already hit a bit of a roadblock. The victim was likely dead already as of the time of the crime, and he's the only one with feet that are anywhere near the size of the footprint."

"All of the people who were part of the tour have feet that are way smaller than the outline that we saw at the time of the crime," Prosecutor Wood explained. "The closest size comparison came from James himself, but it was still the difference of a few sizes. The killer had larger feet than anyone who was involved with the discovery of the body, and given that nobody from the cast showed up... That leaves us wondering..."

"The culprit could have committed the crime and then decided not to come back," Chrysalis concluded, a frown on her face. "Unless we can find out more about whose footprints those are, we're going to have a few problems in the future. I feel like it's practically required at this point, but... I don't know how well that's going to go. If the killer really did commit the murder and then decide to escape and go elsewhere, then we're going to have a real problem when it comes to figuring out who did it."

"What matters most aside from showing who committed this crime is clearing James' name though, and if we cans how feasibly that he didn't do it, then we might be able to have him freed from the detention center without any further issues," I pointed out. "It's all about us playing to our strengths in this situation, though given how many roadblocks we've already run into, that could be an issue..."

"Wait a minute," Chrysalis suddenly said, looking up to the prosecution with intensity in her eyes. "What about Mr. Gassman? Were you able to get his shoe size? Because if so, then we could totally use that to our advantage. Of course, it all comes down to him actually having the correct size, but... We'll just have to see, I suppose."

"Mr. Gassman wasn't able to spend all that much time at the crime scene, so... I'm afraid not," Prosecutor Lin answered. "He had to go elsewhere to get the film developed off his camera of the video he took during the tour. It took up a lot of his time, and we haven't been able to talk to him personally all that much because of it."

"Sounds to me like we've got a bit of a problem on our hands with that then," I commented, nudging Chrysalis with my elbow. She looked up at me and nodded, showing that she had gotten the message. We were going to have to find a way to speak with Mr. Gassman after the trial was over to make sure that he wasn't involved somehow. When this shoe size issue was combined with his large, bulky camera bag, he was starting to look a bit suspicious. 

Before anyone could speak once again, Chrysalis' phone began to vibrate. She frowned and dug the device out of her pocket as Judge Frost glared at her. "Now is not the time to be answering phone calls," she said sternly, and I couldn't help but agree. What was Chrysalis thinking? 

"This call is from the lead detective on this case," Chrysalis explained. "We asked her to tell us if any of the issues involving the crime scene were resolved. I'm only picking up for her because I believe it could aid the investigation." She pressed the button to accept the call before pressing the device up against her cheek, her other hand cupped around the area between her mouth and the phone's speaker. 

I couldn't help but grin at her words. If that was true, then we were finally going to be able to make some progress on finding out more about the crime! We had been spending quite some time already trying to push and squirm against the roadblocks set up by the director's office, locked phone, and missing murder weapon, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary anymore. 

Judge Frost had relented in her anger when she realized the reason for Chrysalis answering the phone, and she was now watching the young girl curiously. I looked over to Prosecutor Lin and found that both she and Prosecutor Wood were also staring with wide, excited eyes. I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest. I couldn't tell which of the three possibilities for the investigation's progress would be best for us. I suppose that all three of them would be for the best, but that wasn't exactly up to me, so I shrugged it off. 

Chrysalis hung up after bidding farewell to Mukuro, and she slid her phone back into her pocket. "She says that they were finally able to get into the director's office," she explained. "She believes that it would be for the best if the defense and prosecution both moved toward the crime scene as soon as possible to ensure that we're able to fully solve this issue."

Judge Frost nodded her understanding before looking over to Prosecutor Lin and Prosecutor Wood. "Does the prosecution object to adjourning the court for another session of investigation?" she questioned sternly. 

Prosecutor Lin shook her head enthusiastically without even needing to ask Prosecutor Wood. "The prosecution has no objections," she confirmed. She even seemed to be excited about the idea of us being able to head out to look around more, and I couldn't blame her in the slightest. I thought it would be for the best given how few facts we were working with. 

Judge Frost shifted her focus over to me and Chrysalis next. "How about the defense?" she asked. I doubt she was expecting us to object, but she seemed like a very thorough person, so it was in her nature to make sure that we were alright with it as well. 

"The defense has no objections," I told her. I looked over to Chrysalis and found the girl smiling to herself, and I couldn't blame her in the slightest. We had been holding on for a breakthrough like this, and the door of the director's office opening was likely exactly what we needed, and I couldn't wait. This was going to be a great; I could already tell. 

"In that case, court will reconvene tomorrow for another session of the trial. Until then, both the defense and prosecution are expected to thoroughly examine the crime scene. Results will be presented when court next comes into session. Until then, court is adjourned!" Judge Frost declared. She hit her gavel against the podium before her, and the next phase of the case began. 

**August 7**

**Defendant Lobby No. 4**

**12:45 PM**

**Felicity Amaya**

When we got out to the defendant lobby, I immediately released a long, heavy sigh. "I'm glad we were able to get out of that one. I don't think that we would have been able to get much further than we did even if we wanted to, so it's good that everyone agreed that this session of investigation was needed," I said. 

Chrysalis nodded. "I feel the same way... Mukuro called me basically as soon as the door opened, so they haven't had time to search the room yet. For all we know, the murder weapon could be hiding inside, and all it will take is a quick sweep of the area to find it at long last," she told me. "We'll have to get down to the crime scene as soon as possible to find out."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I agreed with a grin. I grabbed her by the wrist with intentions of dragging her out of the room, but Chrysalis pulled away before I had the chance. I tilted my head in her direction, but she didn't offer an answer, instead simply dropping her gaze to the floor with a sheepish blush rising in her cheeks. 

Even if we had wanted to leave right then, we wouldn't have been given the chance. James, Yuri, and Anton approached us, and I knew that they were ready to talk about what had just happened. Yuri was the first one to speak, and she playfully punched Chrysalis on the shoulder. "Look at you two, being all cool during the trial," she declared. 

Chrysalis let out a sigh and shook her head. "We did what we had to in order to help James out. That's what matters," she told Yuri firmly. "Anton, how are you feeling? I know that you were rather anxious when testifying. If there's anything we can do to help--"

Before she could even finish the sentence, Anton was running into her arms, pulling her into a quick, tight embrace. Chrysalis stood still in shock at first before returning the gesture. Anton looked up at her with glittering blue eyes. "Thanks, Chrysalis," he said confidently, and I have to admit that I was proud of how he was able to talk with stuttering. "I-I'm going to be fine!"

When Anton pulled away, his face was pulled tight with newfound determination, and I couldn't hold back my grin. He was such a sweet little kid! Every part of him was so pure that it just demanded my attention! 

"It seems to me like we've got a great support group here," I commented, looking to Yuri and Anton with my widening grin. "We're planning on heading down to the crime scene to check out the director's office now that the door has been unlocked. Are you two coming with us?"

"I think we're going to be going with James instead," Yuri replied. "I know how lonely the detention center can get, and I don't think that he should be left alone. Nobody deserves that."

James shook his head. "If you're going to be needed at the crime scene, then you should be there. I don't want to be the reason that you stay behind," he told her, but the steel in Yuri's eyes would not be diverted by something as simple as James telling her to leave. I had come to know her well enough in the short time we had been working together to be fully aware of how stubborn she could get. She wasn't going to be swayed no matter what he said. 

"Too bad! I'm staying behind no matter what you say," Yuri told him. "We know how terrible it is, and it's not like we're exactly needed at the crime scene. If anybody needs us, they can come and find us. In the meantime, we're happy to stay with you at the detention center."

I looked over to Chrysalis, and judging by the expression on her face, she was seeing right through Yuri's ploy about spending more time with James. She was likely doing this because of her massive crush on James, and it was impressive that she was still pretending that it was anything else. That sounded like Yuri alright. She was certainly getting closer to him for better or worse, so I suppose that counted for something. 

"You did an impressive job in there," James suddenly said, and I realized belatedly that he was speaking to me and Chrysalis. His eyes were shining, and I couldn't help but wonder what had him so excited. 

"Thank you," Chrysalis replied simply, a smile on her lips, but the grin didn't reach her eyes. "We're happy to help. It's what we do."

"You know, my father was a lawyer," James went on, closing his eyes in melancholy reminiscence. "He went missing a long time ago, but... I suppose I've always thought about following in his footsteps. I have an acting career now, but if that ever falls through, I know exactly what I'm going to be studying. Your work in there has only solidified my decision."

"I'm just happy that we've been able to help you out," I grinned to him. "It's so nice that we can work to get you out of the detention center. You're innocent, so you don't deserve to be locked up for something that you didn't do. It's not something that anybody deserves."

"I used to go to my father's trials when I was younger, but I didn't fully understand what was going on in them. I was too young to fully comprehend it, but times are different now. I'm glad that I'm able to be here with you two," James smiled. His irises were practically glowing with his sad grin, and I couldn't help but feel awful for him. 

"Who knows? Maybe you'll find yourself as a member of our little team one day," I commented, nudging Chrysalis with my elbow to make sure that she caught on. She looked up at me with a nervous, awkward smile, but I couldn't quite place the cause of her jittery anticipation. I brushed it off, figuring that it wasn't a big deal. 

James shrugged. "We'll simply have to see... But I suppose that I'm going to have to get going now. I know that I need to return to the detention center, and you have to investigate the crime scene. I'll be looking forward to your next update," he told us, bowing his head kindly. "Enjoy the rest of your day, lovely ladies!"

We watched as James walked away with Anton and Yuri, and I turned to Chrysalis. "He seems like a good kid," I commented. "Yuri certainly seems to think so too."

"I haven't seen her this into a guy in a long time," Chrysalis murmured. "But I suppose that there's nothing we can do about it now. She can have her crush, and since it's not going to interfere with our investigation, we're going to be fine. Now, how about we go to the crime scene to see what's waiting for us there?"

I nodded my agreement and started walking towards the door. Chrysalis trailed after me, and I could tell that she was just as determined as I was to follow through with finding the truth of this case. Getting into the director's office was just the first step, and we were going to get through this! That was a promise! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Online school really is a nightmare huh
> 
> -Digital


	26. Turnabout Live, Part 6

**August 7**

**Lady Bird Studios**

**1:45 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

When we got back to the studios, the first thing I noticed was the overwhelming number of reporters standing outside the building. Cameras were raised in every direction, and there were too many flashes going off to be properly counted. I cringed with each new burst of light, and I wound up raising both of my hands to block out my peripheral vision so that I wouldn't have to deal with them. It was just going to give me a headache if I looked at them for too long. 

"Well, this sure is something else, huh?" Felicity questioned with a humorless laugh. She guided me towards the building, an easy smile on her face as she avoided the various microphones shoved in her face. 

"I thought it was ridiculous that there were so many reporters at the trial, but it seems that we were just getting started with all of that crap," I sighed with a shake of my head. Felicity managed to get us inside of the building, and I released a slow breath to keep myself from losing it. There were too many people outside, and I wasn't looking forward to leaving the building in the slightest. 

"For now, we should head over to the crime scene," Felicity suggested with a smile. "How does that sound? We can talk with Mukuro about if she's found anything in the director's room."

I nodded my agreement, and we started walking over in the direction of our destination. My vision was still dancing with stars from the endless reporters outside, and I couldn't help but frown to myself. I had known that James was famous, but I never expected it to go this deep. I had clearly underestimated how dedicated his fanbase could be. I had always been a fan of his show, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't go crazy trying to get inside. Getting this obsessive over a murder really didn't seem healthy, and the mere idea made me feel sick to my stomach. 

Then again, it wasn't as if I had much of a place to talk regarding all of this stuff. After all, I was no stranger to having to deal with reporters who got a bit to excited about my own activities. Granted, it was never quite like this since my identity as Oracle was a secret at the end of the day, but it was still a bit too close of a comparison to feel comfortable. 

Felicity suddenly stopped walking, and I realized that we had arrived at the director's room. She opened the door and gestured for me to go inside. I gave her a small nod and murmured my thanks before walking in. Felicity followed me, allowing the door to shut gently behind her. 

The director's room was certainly something special, that was for sure. It was far less messy than James' dressing room had been, and I have to admit I was surprised upon realizing this. After all, this was where the crime took place, so how could it have been so clean?

Well, I suppose that clean is a relative term, because there was still blood smeared across the floor on the ground near the computer. There was a chair set up in front of the desk, and both the chair and the surrounding floor were covered in blood. There was a lot more of it here than there had been in James' dressing room, and it was pretty easy to come to the conclusion that we had found the place where the crime had actually been committed. 

The rest of the room was nearly spotless though. A large cabinet had been shoved up against the window, and a few skid marks were on the floor. Still, there were no signs of a struggle, and I couldn't help but wonder how the crime scene had gotten to look like this. There was something odd about it no matter how I looked at the situation, and I was determined to get to the bottom of it. 

"Hey, look," Felicity commented, pointing to the blood on the floor. I followed her finger and gaze with a frown. "There are tire marks going through the blood."

Sure enough, she was right. There were two lines of tracks moving through the blood, fading away after a few inches. I already had the sneaking suspicion that I knew exactly what the tracks had come from, and when I looked up to Felicity, I realized that she had come to the same conclusion. 

"It must have been the cart," Felicity went on. "I guess that it was originally in here for some reason... Maybe the culprit moved it here ahead of time to make sure to they'd have a way of moving the body, and then after the victim died, they loaded the body onto the rack before sliding it over to James' dressing room."

I nodded my agreement before looking to the rest of the room. Everything was perfectly organized, put in its dedicated spot perfectly. There wasn't a hair out of place aside from the moved cabinet and the blood on the floor. The director was clearly the organized sort, and I had to thank him for it. That certainly made our jobs a hell of a lot easier. 

"Hey... Look at the desk," Felicity remarked next, and I was once again snapped out of my daze to follow her advice. She had walked over to the table and was looking at it closely. "There's blood splattered on the edge of the table, and that makes me think that perhaps something happened here... Well, we already know what happened here, but... You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed simply. I looked at what was on the desk, and I realized that there was a computer set up. The screen was just in front of the chair at the desk, and I realized the reason that the chair was positioned there. The main segment of the computer was sitting on the floor to the side of the desk. 

I pressed my hand against the side of the device, and a gasp left my lips. "Hey, Felicity... The computer is still warm," I told her. "Do you know what that means?"

Felicity let out a gasp. "That means that it was used recently!" she cried out. "But... Nobody's been in here since the murder took place. The culprit locked everything down and then shoved the cabinet in front of the window to make sure nobody could get in."

"That's true, but you're overlooking something," I told her. "The computer would also be warm if the device was still technically in use. Even if the screen is turned off, as long as the console is running, it's going to be warm."

"You're right," Felicity murmured. She looked to the screen on the desk before sliding her fingers around on the side. She eventually found what she was looking for, and she pressed a button that caused the screen to flicker to life. 

"Great going," Felicity grinned, nudging me with her shoulder. I looked down with a blush rising in my cheeks, not used to the positive attention. I did my best to shake it off, but Felicity's wide grin wasn't going to let me forget my flustered moment anytime soon. So long as she didn't get distracted by it while we were investigating though, I supposed it was harmless, and I let her keep staring for a few seconds longer. 

I looked up to the screen, and a frown appeared on my features before a smile broke out. "There's something open on here," I told her. I slowly moved my finger over to the mouse, cringing at the small amount of blood gathered around its base. I was able to maneuver the mouse around a little bit without accidentally disturbing the blood, and I clicked on the tab that had been left open when the device was last used. 

I realized a moment later that the tab that had been left open wasn't just any internet search. Instead, it was the inbox of the victim. An email address for a 'DRector' was written in the top corner, and I knew that this had to be what we were looking for. The announcement about the cancellation of the tour had been sent by email from the victim, so that meant we were going to have to search through the messages that he had sent recently. 

I navigated my way over to the recently-sent messages section, and I could see the email that had been sent out to talk about the tour being cancelled. I looked over my shoulder to see that Felicity was watching me intently as well, and I clicked on it. I wasn't entirely sure what we were going to find, but I was going to see about it anyways. It wasn't as if we had any other choice in the matter. We had to see what the victim said about all of this. 

"This email was sent in the morning yesterday," Felicity commented. "What do you think we're going to be doing next about all of this? I mean, the email was presumably sent just before the victim was killed, but I still don't know why the tour would be cancelled if that was the case."

"I have another proposal for you then," I said with a frown. "What if the victim wasn't the one that sent the email? We've been assuming all this time that the victim was the person who constructed the message, but that doesn't strictly have to be the case. Think about the nature of emails and how easily they can be manipulated in a given way."

"I think I know what you're talking about... You mean to say that somebody sent the email from this device to make it seem as if he was the one to send the message, but it was really somebody else on his computer," Felicity commented. "The killer would want to send out a message like this to keep everyone away from the crime scene so that they could manipulate it the way they had been imagining."

"And it also explains the reason why James was the only one to not get the email. It was on purpose because the culprit knew that they were going to be trying to frame James. It wasn't a coincidence in the slightest; the killer was deliberately trying to pin the crime on him," I agreed. 

"Plus, they could use his fame to their advantage. James is pretty well-known, and there are all sorts of tabloids and magazines that would trip over themselves just to have the chance of interviewing him at a time like this. Regardless of if they really thought he committed the crime or not, he's famous, and that fame could be used as a distraction when manipulated properly," Felicity pointed out. 

"Exactly. We already pointed out that there was something peculiar about James being the only one to not get the message about the tour being cancelled, and it's becoming clear why that was," I told her with a small smile. "Then there's the matter of the radio station... I suppose that all of that was on purpose too."

"The video that would be captured by the radio station would make it seem like James did it. After all, having him on camera finding the body in his own dressing room would certainly make him seem suspicious. He's an actor, and the killer was surely aware of this. They could always claim that he was faking all of this in the name of seeming like he didn't commit the crime," Felicity agreed. "There's a lot of dimension to this case, and there's a reason James was used as the scapegoat for this case above anyone else who was part of the show's cast or crew. His fame and acting talents could be manipulated as a way of making him seem wrongfully guilty."

"Speaking of, I suppose that we still need to go and talk to the Mr. Gassman today," I commented. "It would also be nice to speak with Mukuro about all of this... I'm surprised that she hasn't dropped by to see us. I would have expected her to be the first person to try and find us after we got here."

"I heard that you were talking about me."

I turned to the door, and a smile appeared on my face as I saw Mukuro walk into the room. She had a bright grin on her lips, and she shot us a brief wave. "Hey, you two," she greeted simply. "I'm glad to see that you were able to get in here without any issues. Controlling the crowd outside is quickly proving itself to be nothing short of a nightmare, and the last thing I would want for you would be for this to be problematic for you."

"Yeah, we're fine," I assured her. "Is there anything that you've found out about the crime? We could really use any details that you have for us. I don't mind if it's tiny or huge, but I suppose that if it was large, you already would have mentioned it..."

"Well... I suppose that we did get into the victim's phone a moment ago," Mukuro said with a shrug. "But we didn't find anything of use. His phone was opened up to his inbox, but it didn't exactly give us any new information that we didn't already have."

"His inbox is opened up on his computer too," Felicity commented. "And we think that perhaps the victim wasn't the one who sent the email blast out at the time of the crime. What if the culprit was the one responsible for it instead? That would make a startling amount of sense, wouldn't you say?"

Mukuro nodded. "Come to think of it, that would make sense... I'm afraid that we won't have a conclusive way to prove it though. The range of the victim's assumed death... It's not precise enough for us to know exactly when he died. The range written in the autopsy is about fifteen minutes, and if the email was sent in that window, then we can't say for sure if one person or another sent it out," she frowned. 

"As unfortunate as that is, I don't think it's going to destroy our case completely or anything," I murmured. "I think that we can use this to our advantage, as a matter of fact. We were easily able to prove that something was wrong with James not receiving the message during the trial today, and I believe that we'll be able to point this out as well."

"This means that we've opened two of the avenues for our investigation as of now," Felicity remarked. "We got into the victim's room and unlocked his phone, but the murder weapon is still hiding from us. I was really expecting the gun to be hidden somewhere in here, but... I don't see it."

"We've been scouring the entire building with hopes of recovering the murder weapon, but it feels like we've searched through everything multiple times," Mukuro told us with a frown and a shake of her head. "We also got the chance to look through this room before you arrived, and there's nothing out of place in here. I wish that I had an answer about what's going to be next, but... We just need this clue to surface, but there are no hints to be found."

"Maybe the killer took the gun with them," Chrysalis remarked. "We're also still missing the key to the director's office. I bet that the culprit took it along when they left, and we're not going to be able to find it until we can manage to corner the culprit and show that they're responsible for all of this."

"You're probably right, but it's still unfortunate," Mukuro sighed. "I don't know where we're supposed to find the gun, but I'm sure that it'll come up sooner or later. Until then, we're going to keep searching. There are bound to be a few clues that we simply aren't seeing quite yet."

"Is there anything else that you think we should be aware of?" Felicity questioned. "Right now, our next step is going to be to go and speak with Mr. Gassman about what he was doing at the time of the body's discovery. He was recording everything, and that's bound to be helpful to us."

"I don't think that there's anything else notable," Mukuro answered with a light shrug. "You should totally talk to him about what he found at the time though. I'm sure that will help your case out quite a bit..."

"Anton said that there was something that bothered him about Mr. Gassman's bag. I can certainly see why, I have to admit. Anton is a nervous person by nature, and Mr. Gassman's bag is absolutely huge. It's incredibly chaotic as well, and I bet that it caused him some anxiety. The heaviness of the equipment most certainly did not help, and I suppose that it frightened him," I told the other two. 

"Poor thing," Felicity cooed. "I hope that he's alright with James and Yuri. I know that they're both nice people, but I know that the crime scene and all that's happened can be scary as well for him... I feel awful for the kid."

"We'll have to go and talk to him after all of this is over," I said firmly. "I know that I want to check in on him as soon as possible, but before we can do that, we have work to take care of. Now, how about we try to find out where Mr. Gassman went? I don't think there's all that much around here for us to use, as much as I hate to see it. This room being locked impeded our process before, but we don't really need it as much now."

"We know that the crime took place here, and I think that's what matters most at this point," Felicity shrugged. "We can see the bloodstains everywhere, and that's certainly conclusive proof about what we're going to be worried about from here on out... I'm not sure there's anything else in here that we can use. The room is so clean and organized. The culprit clearly came in here with a mission, and there was no struggle."

"The victim was shot in the side of the head at point blank range, so I suspect that the culprit snuck in here and caught the victim at his desk. From there, they threatened Mr. Rector with staying still or dying, and then they decided to go on and kill him anyways. They rolled the cart past, getting it through the blood on the way. The body was set on the rack and moved to James' room. The bloodstains were cleaned away, but various articles of clothing were used to cover the place where the blood would have been to ensure that nobody found it," I concluded. 

"But the culprit doing that only made it seem more suspicious," Felicity grinned. "And we were able to learn about the way the body was moved sooner as a result. We wouldn't have realized that the killer used the rack until after we got into the director's room and saw the tracks in the blood, but we figured it out early because of the killer trying to cover the truth up with the clothing."

"They certainly made a mistake there," I agreed. "Still, I think that we have a major problem right now... We still don't know what the motive could be. James doesn't have a reason to hate the victim in the slightest, and we don't have any ideas on a reason that others would hate him either."

Mukuro hesitated before gesturing for us to lean in closer. "Actually, I might have found something that could be of use for us regarding a reason the victim would be hated. Of course, it's something that we'll have to keep quiet until the trial starts, but I think that you're going to need to hear about it," she told us. She started to leave the room, and I knew that she wanted us to follow her. I looked over to Felicity, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes before trailing after the young detective. 

Mukuro led us away from the director's room and towards a secluded corner of the studios. The gentle din of investigators and invasive reporters could be heard in the background, but it was secondary to the pounding of my own heart in my chest. I looked around nervously, my teeth threatening to bite down on my bottom lip at any moment. Mukuro's sudden shift to solemnity was unsettling, and I wasn't sure of what I was supposed to think about it all. 

"I've figured out more about the director's past, and I think it's exactly what we need to know about," Mukuro went on. "You see, he wasn't always involved with the theater industry. In fact, he started out doing something a bit more... Intense, for lack of a better term. He was an Interpol agent at first, but he wound up leaving the force behind soon after the disappearance of Cade Green, the former leader of Interpol."

I frowned and looked over to Felicity. Cade Green sure had been involved with quite a few of our cases as of late. Granted, it had only been two cases, but it was still enough to earn my concern. I wasn't sure of what we were supposed to think about it, but I felt my stomach begin to twist from nerves. 

"Cade Green wound up leaving Interpol when his true identity was exposed, right?" Felicity questioned. "I know that there were a lot of people who were loyal to him leading up to his departure, and there are still people out there who wonder about where he could have disappeared to."

"Yeah. It seems that the victim of this case was one of the people who would follow him anywhere, because as soon as Cade Green was gone, Mr. Rector was too. He spent a few years doing odd jobs before eventually finding a place in show business. He's been working on various shows for a few years, but this is easily his most intensive and popular project," Mukuro continued. 

"If he was really involved with Cade Green at one point, then that certainly gives us a reason that some people would hate him," I muttered with a shake of my head. "There have already been a few people who got violent over his disappearance. It's been an issue for years now."

"Mr. Rector never talked about his days as part of Interpol though. I spoke with a few members of the show over the phone, and none of them were aware that he was ever part of the force. He kept that secret under tight wraps, and I can certainly understand why. Having information like that get out can be a huge risk, and I know it's something that most people would rather not worry about," Mukuro told us. 

"We have a potential motive figured out, but I don't know if that's going to do us all that much good until we figure out a person who would want to hurt him over this," Felicity muttered. "I really wish there was more for us to do with this information though... I mean, hearing about a motive like this is huge, and we have to do something about it sooner or later, but... Who would know about this? He kept it a secret and was clearly trying to move past that phase of his life, so I doubt the culprit was somebody he told of his own free will. Maybe they somehow found out on their own."

"There are lots of people out there who find out ways of receiving information they aren't meant to have," I told Felicity solemnly. I didn't dare to meet her gaze or Mukuro's, so I chose to stare down at the floor instead. I instinctively began to fiddle with the fingerless gloves on my hands out of anxiety. 

"We'll just have to ask everybody involved with the case and see if they know anything," Felicity suggested, not seeming to pick up on my moment of serious behavior. "Of course, we can't be upfront with it, so we'll be as sneaky as possible with hopes that somebody will slip up and say something they shouldn't be aware of. Nobody's mask is perfect, and there are bound to be some cracks in the armor if we press hard enough and in the right ways."

"There aren't many suspects of that right now though," I pointed out. "At this point, the only person who we could possibly find suspicious is Mr. Gassman. After all, the rest of us have alibis. I was with Mukuro, Anton, Niamh, and Yuri before we got here the day of the crime. James doesn't have a motive. Mr. Gassman met us here, and he was following us around the entire time. We're going to have to see if he's aware of anything involving the crime. He might know something about the Interpol involvement between the victim and Cade Green... It's a long shot, but we don't exactly have much else to go off."

"We can talk to him about his bag when we see him too," Felicity said. "We'll have to be careful about approaching him though... You know, just in case there is something about him that we need to keep in mind. It's best to be safe rather than sorry, and we wouldn't want to be suddenly unable to solve the case because he got violent."

"He seems so meek and normal," Mukuro remarked. "That's how he was when we first met him, anyways. I know that killers can hide their emotions in an attempt to seem innocent, but... He seems so regular."

"His awkward behavior could be a mask," I reminded her. "We'll just have to see, but we're going to need to be careful to not fully corner him. That's what the courtroom is for. It's so easy for someone to confess to something outside of the courtroom, but there's no evidence if that happens, and we're forced to find a roundabout solution to reveal the truth."

"I guess that we're just going to have to go and find him now," Felicity commented. "We don't know all that much about the Interpol incident either, but we can use that to our advantage. If something strange is mentioned during the conversation, we'll keep it in mind and call him out on it tomorrow. If he thinks that he's safe, he isn't going to know to cover it when he makes a mistake. That should make it easier for us to put the pieces together."

"Thank you for all your help today, Mukuro," I told her with a small nod in her direction. "If you find anything else out that we should know about, please get in contact with us. We can use any information that you send our way, so there's no need to hold back."

"I'll tell you as soon as we find out anything else critical," Mukuro assured us. "We're going to keep looking for the gun, but I'm not sure if we're going to find any success in it given how unlucky we've been already. If the killer really did take the weapon with them when fleeing the crime scene, then... Well, we're sort of being left out to dry, and I don't know if there's anything we can do about it."

"I'm sure that we'll figure it out sooner or later," Felicity smiled, wrapping an arm around Mukuro's shoulders to comfort her. "Now, I guess it's time for us to get going and see what we can find out by talking to Mr. Gassman. Thanks for all your help, Mukuro. We'll be looking forward to seeing you again."

Mukuro was practically beaming when she pulled away from Felicity. "I won't let you down!" she exclaimed, her eyes glittering with excitement. "I'm counting on you two to find out the truth behind this case! I'm going to find Prosecutor Lin and Niamh to tell them about what I've uncovered, and then they'll be able to work with you to figure everything out. Until we meet again!" 

Mukuro waved before dashing off, and I watched her go with a fond smile on my face. Once she had disappeared around the nearby corner, I let out a small sigh before looking up to Felicity. "It seems like we have our next mission figured out, so we had better get on it," I said. I started to walk away from the small corner we had been talking in, and Felicity trailed after me. 

I wasn't sure where we were going to be finding Mr. Gassman, but I was determined to figure out more about what he had been up to prior to our arrival at the scene of the crime. Judging by the look on Felicity's face, she felt the same way. I watched her carefully for a moment before looking back down to the floor. 

Something about this case was giving me a bad feeling. Maybe it was the fact that all of this was involved with Interpol, and I didn't exactly have fond memories of anything to do with Interpol. I did my best to hide the shiver that sprinted up my spine, but it wound up escaping anyways. I was lucky Felicity was looking away at the time and didn't see. I hoped that the rest of the case would go in our favor, but there were no promises. I knew that better than anyone. All we could do from then on was try to investigate the case and uncover the truth, but that was certainly easier said than done. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I didn't get distracted so much
> 
> -Digital


	27. Turnabout Live, Part 7

**August 7**

**Lady Bird Studios**

**3:00 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

In the grand scheme of the investigation, it really didn't take us all that long to track down Mr. Gassman. We found him lingering outside the building where the rest of the media-related personnel were, but he wasn't desperately trying to snap pictures of everything. Instead, he was simply rocking back and forth on his feet, waiting for something to pull him out of his trance. At first, he didn't even notice that I had arrived, and it took Felicity tapping him on the shoulder to snap him out of it. He nearly dropped his camera, and the bag on his back shook mightily as he attempted to catch his balance in the seconds that followed. His breathing was heavy in his moment of stress. 

"I didn't see you there!" Mr. Gassman declared in surprise, pressing one hand against his chest while the other held tightly to his camera. "You should have told me that you were coming!" 

"You weren't exactly going to listen to us even if we did say that we were going to talk to you," I pointed out simply. "You looked pretty lost in thought, and I don't know if I would have wanted to poke that bear when there was the danger of you losing it in surprise."

Mr. Gassman hesitated in an attempt to form a cohesive response, but he gave up a moment and let out a sigh. "You can be a bit prickly at times, you know that?" he questioned. I looked away with a frown. I hadn't thought that I was too rude when I approached him, but it seemed that I was wrong. 

"That isn't important right now," Felicity suddenly cut in, placing her hands on her hips. "We were hoping to ask you more about everything that's been happening as of late. We know that you were there when the body was discovered, so you must have seen something during the chaos. Plus, you were recording everything, and we'd like to have access to that video, if it's alright with you."

Mr. Gassman nodded slowly. "Yeah... I guess I was there," he muttered. "It was pretty stressful to see, I have to say. I never would have imagined that someone who seems so kind on television could be responsible for the death of somebody they cared about... He's a talented actor, you know. He could just be pretending that none of this was his fault when he actually shot the victim."

"How would a sixteen-year-old get his hands on a gun?" I asked. I knew that this wasn't helping my image as someone who was supposedly 'prickly', but I couldn't have cared less. He was the one blaming James, and if he was going to do that, then I thought I had full rights to get snippy after we had already shown in court that he likely wasn't the culprit. 

Mr. Gassman shrugged. "There are lots of ways to get a weapon these days," he pointed out. "Besides, think about it. This set is pretty big... Imagine if he hid the gun somewhere that he knew nobody was going to search through. That would allow him to get away with it all. I bet he's just using you to make sure that he doesn't get caught."

"What makes you so sure that James committed this crime?" Felicity inquired. "You seem to be jumping to a lot of conclusions right now..." 

Mr. Gassman raised his camera and took a picture of the nearby crowd. The flash was enough to temporarily blind me, and I stumbled backwards a foot or so before regaining my balance. I had no idea how James could deal with stuff like that all the time, because after just one photo, I thought I was going to never see again. "I'm part of the media industry. You have to know what makes for a good story in order to make it, and that's not even factoring in the juicy tidbits that you need to get. That's how you draw in your readers."

"Still, reporting about things that you don't know are true or not doesn't sound all that honest," I pointed out. "You should take a step back to look at everything critically. All of the people here are trying to get gossip for magazines that thrive off rumors, but it isn't honest business. You're deceiving people in order to get their money."

"I have bills to pay," Mr. Gassman said after a brief pause. "I know what I have to do in order to get by. Sometimes, you have to do a little bending of the truth in order to get a good scoop. It's all about dramatics. People don't want to hear that a star was framed for murder. It's not as glamorous as the potential of betrayal."

"Glamorous?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow. He called me prickly before going into all of this crap? He was already starting to grate on my nerves, though perhaps that was primarily because of his offhand comment. Either way, could you blame me? 

"That doesn't matter right now," Felicity cut in, placing a hand between me and Mr. Gassman. "We're just here to ask you about what you saw at the time of the crime, so how about you answer our questions? We'll move right along as soon as we're finished here, and then you can get back to your regular business."

Mr. Gassman seemed to relax as soon as Felicity stepped in, and an easy smile returned to his features. The sight of him grinning like that made me want to roll my eyes until they fell out of my skull, but I did no such thing. Instead, I simply watched him as he took another picture of the crowd. I was prepared this time, so I forced my eyes shut just before the flash went off. Afterwards, he tilted his head to the side and looked to both me and Felicity before speaking. "So... What do you want to know?" he asked. 

"Please tell us about what you saw when the body was discovered," Felicity told him with a grin. I could tell that she was trying to get him to open up, and a smile appeared to be the easiest way to accomplish that. I tried to follow her example, but I could only spread my lips so far while the bitterness of his comment lingered in my veins. I didn't know why it bothered me so much, but it most certainly did bug me. Maybe it was because of how clearly he had jumped to conclusions. He had done it with James, and it seemed that he had made that mistake me as well. For someone so friendly, Mr. Gassman sure did know how to be frustrating. 

Mr. Gassman nodded in response, and he began fiddling around with his camera as he rocked back and forth. When he moved, I heard the sound of metal hitting metal, but I couldn't quite say for sure what it was. My eyes fell upon his bag, and I tried to figure out what could possibly be hiding inside. Felicity didn't seem to pick up on the noise. If she did, she was doing a masterful job at hiding it. 

"I was asked by the radio station to record a video of everything that happened here today," Mr. Gassman began to explain. "We had a lot of fans enter the lottery for a tour of the set of the show, you know? Even if they didn't win, most of them would still be interested in watching the tour. It wound up being kind of disappointing given that only one person showed up, but I still decided to follow through and record it for the sake of our loyal fans."

"How long were you at the set before it started?" Felicity questioned, tilting her head to the side. "You must have arrived early to make sure that you were prepared for everything that was going to be happening during the tour, right?"

Mr. Gassman stopped playing with his camera in favor of cupping one hand around his chin. "Hm... That's a good question," he remarked before shrugging. "I have to say that I don't remember. I didn't think that it would be an important fact to keep track of, and I wasn't really checking my watch at the time, so I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that question. Sorry."

The air around him seemed to go dark, and my eyes narrowed as I saw chains slide into view. Psyche-Locks. I looked to Felicity out of the corner of my eye, but she didn't seem bothered at all by his words. After all, she didn't have a Magatama, so it wasn't as if she had a way of knowing that this was happening. I was going to have to bring it up with her later along with the metallic clashing sounds. As soon as this discussion ended, we were going to need to have a long talk about the strange habits of Mr. Gassman. 

Felicity frowned in his direction at those words, but she didn't seem to want to push it. Well, I knew that she wanted to, but without any evidence, he wouldn't have been willing to listen. He already showed that he didn't want to get involved with the idea that James was innocent even with proof, so the chances of him actually acknowledging our ideas were slim. Moving on was likely for the best regardless of how much we wanted to press him on it. 

"Before we go, can we ask you for one more thing?" Felicity questioned. When Mr. Gassman nodded in response, she continued. "Could you let us look into your bag? Chrysalis says that you were wearing it at the time the body was discovered, and we're just curious about if anything could have been caught on it. After all, your bag is on the larger side, and we'd rather stay safe than sorry."

Mr. Gassman frowned at her before looking down at the ground. "You know... You're making it sound like you don't trust me," he muttered. "It seems to me like you think I'm suspicious, and you think that my bag could have something unsavory in it. You really don't think that I committed the crime, do you?" 

His words caught me by surprise, and judging by the shock that painted Felicity's face, she was in the same boat. She looked over at me in an attempt to gauge my response, but I didn't give her my attention. Instead, I shook my head and frowned. He was dodging the question, and that was just as telling as an actual answer as far as I could tell. 

However, I didn't say any of this, and I instead let a nervous smile appear on my face to make myself seem as innocent as possible. "No, of course not," I replied with as much honesty as I could manage for something that was so blatantly a lie. "We just wanted to make sure that nothing happened the day of the crime. There are lots of pointed edges on your bag, and we want to ensure that nothing was caught on them. You could have accidentally run into something and gotten a piece of evidence stuck to your bag. We simply want to make sure that nothing like that happened. There's nothing to worry about."

Mr. Gassman shook his head. "I don't think that you need to worry about it. If something got stuck on my bag, I'm sure I would have noticed it by now. This thing has a very distinctive weight, and if there was anything extra holding me down, I would have caught on already. I don't think that there's anything on here, so you shouldn't concern yourself with it. Sorry for the inconvenience," he told us with an awkward grin of his own. He scratched at the back of his head with his free hand before looking over to the crowd. "Is that everything you wanted to ask me? I think I'm going to try and get the opinions of other people here about the case."

Felicity frowned in my direction before covering it up with a seamless smile. "I think that we're done. See you later!" she exclaimed, waving at him. Mr. Gassman grinned in response before waving back and retreating into the crowd. He vanished nearly completely a moment later, and the only thing that told me that he was still there at all was his gigantic bag. 

I glanced up to Felicity, and I noticed immediately that her smile had slipped away, giving way to firm doubt. "So... There's something going on here," Felicity said before I had the chance to kick off the conversation for myself. 

"Let's find a quieter spot to talk," I suggested, gesturing for her to follow me. It didn't take me long to curl around to the back of the building where there weren't any reporters to be seen. Internally, I released a sigh of relief, glad beyond imagination that I was away from all of that damn noise. There was only so much of it that I could take at a given moment, and I had more than exceeded my limits by then. Didn't those people ever know when to zip it? Some of us were trying to take care of other business and, you know, not have panic attacks over how damn loud it was. 

As soon as we were settled, I looked up to Felicity with a frown. "I don't know if you heard it, but there was a clinging sound coming from his bag," I began. "It sounded like two metal objects hitting each other. I don't know exactly what they could have been, but I think that sound is rather strange, and we should keep it in mind in case it turns out to be important."

"Are you sure that it was coming from him and not anyone else in the crowd?" Felicity questioned, tilting her head to the side. "We were close to a lot of people out there, and it wouldn't do at all for us to come to a conclusion about this only for another person to be the culprit of the noise."

I nodded my affirmation. "I'm positive. When we started the conversation, he rocked back and forth on his feet, and the metal clinging was in time with his movements. It must have been him making that noise. There's something in that bag that he doesn't want us knowing about, and he pulled that whole manipulation thing to try and throw us off the scent. He turned it back on us as soon as we asked him about the bag because he didn't want to get into it. He put us into a corner and offered no escape aside from agreeing that he couldn't have been the culprit. It's fishy."

Felicity nodded in response. "Alright... You know, I think that we're just going to have to deal with him in the courtroom tomorrow. He wasn't going to be letting us get through to him out here, so all we can do is wait until we go back into court," she commented. "Still, I suppose that leaves us time to take care of other matters. There's not all that much that we can do around here aside from coming up with our battle plan for the next session of the trial, so maybe it's time for us to branch out and take care of something else. I'm sure that you know exactly what I'm talking about." She shot me a brief wink soon after. 

"Alright," I said simply. We were going to have to go to the detention center to give James and everyone else there an update on the case. I could text Sora later and tell her about what we had discovered about Mr. Gassman. His behavior was most certainly strange, and he was acting surprisingly antagonistic given how sweet and awkward he had originally made himself seem. This seemed like as good a time as any, especially given that we weren't going to be able to uncover anything else as long as we were still at the scene of the crime. 

Felicity paused before we could get going though, and one of her hands wrapped around her chin as she contemplated our situation. "So... We need to figure out where the gun is next, right?" she asked. "I don't think that we're going to be able to do that next, I'm afraid. I mean, if the gun was really in this area, I feel like we would have found it by now, and yet, here we are, just as clueless as ever." 

I hesitated before nodding my agreement. "Yeah. There's nothing we can do to find the gun now, and it's not as if we know where anything else could be. The victim's phone wound up being a dead end, but at least we figured out without a shadow of a doubt where the crime actually took place. We already had a theory that the body was moved, but we're getting closer to unraveling the full truth now that we're aware everything started off in the director's office," I explained to her. 

"In that case, all we can really do is get out of here," Felicity murmured. "I really do hate to leave the scene of the crime on this note, but there's not a way for us to officially uncover the murder weapon right now, so all we can do is talk to James and see if he knows anything. Then again, how could he uncover any new information given that he's been locked up all day?"

"The trial is going to be our chance," I told her firmly. "We might not have the murder weapon on hand, but that hopefully won't matter much in the grand scheme of things. We're going to try and get the truth out of Mr. Gassman during the trial tomorrow, and then the pieces should slide into place... That's what I'm hoping for, at the very least. After that, we'll just have to hope that the murder weapon turns up."

"Mukuro will probably be searching until the case is closed, so I think that we can leave this in her capable hands," Felicity concluded. "For now though, we should get going and see what's going on at the detention center. There are tons of people waiting for an update on the case, and I don't think that we should leave them in the dark for much longer than we already have."

"You're right," I agreed simply before starting to walk out from behind the building. Felicity trailed after me, but I didn't look up at her. Mr. Gassman was really starting to bug me, and I was going to find out why before this case ended. 

**August 7**

**Detention Center**

**4:30 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

When we arrived at the detention center, James wasn't there yet. Anton and Yuri were already in the visiting area, and they were sitting in the chairs against the wall silently. I cleared my throat as soon as we got there, and Yuri looked up. "Hey there, you two!" she chirped. "How is the investigation going?" 

"We're getting closer to figure out the truth," I replied, though I didn't know if I could get into much more detail than that given how clueless we were in the grand scheme of things. I shrugged it off in the end though, figuring that there were other matters that were far more important. 

"We may have found a motive," Felicity explained. "It'll take us a little while longer to put the full puzzle together, and when we do, everything should come together. We'll wait until after the trial has started to unveil that information though. It's important that it stays as quiet as possible until the time is right, so forgive us for keeping this secret for a bit longer."

Anton's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands together in excitement. I smiled over at him, watching as Yuri threw one arm around his shoulders. Anton didn't object to the contact like I would have expected, so I smiled from afar at the wide smile that had appeared on his face. 

As soon as I realized that Anton was distracted with other matters, I allowed my gaze to drop to the floor. We did have a motive, but we hadn't been given the chance to ask Mr. Gassman about it. Maybe it was for the best this way. He couldn't dodge the subject if we asked him about it in court, so we could simply save the topic for the next day. Still, I had to admit that I was a bit worried about how everything was going to come together. What if he really didn't know anything? Would we be forced to try and work out a solution to the case when nobody else we encountered could have done it? 

I knew that I was probably jumping to conclusions, but as soon as the thought entered my mind, I couldn't make it leave. I let out a small sigh, making sure to keep it soft enough so that nobody else noticed how distracted I was. Trying to figure out a way to connect Interpol with this case wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't as if we really had much of an option in the matter. If we wanted to save James, we were going to have to figure out a way to make the pieces come together. 

The idea of this case being tied in with Interpol made me upset on its own, but I tried not to show it. I didn't exactly have a reason to show my distaste as far as the rest of the world was concerned, so I was going to have to shove it aside and ignore it in favor of focusing on the case. I could curse the name of Cade Green for dragging everybody into this mess later on, but I didn't have the time for that yet. James was counting on me, and I didn't want to let him down when we had come so far. 

As if on cue, James showed up on the other side of the glass, and I looked up slowly at him. I tried to shove all the worry off my expression as quickly as possible. Luckily, nobody was looking at me, so it didn't appear that anyone noticed my moment of panic. I let out an internal sigh of relief before turning my full attention to our client for this case, correcting any nerves that might have been attempting to slip out. 

"Hey, James," Felicity greeted with a gentle wave. "I have a question for you, if that's alright." James nodded in response, prompting Felicity to continue. "Would you happen to know anything about what the victim was doing before he decided to become a director? We've come under the impression that perhaps he was involved with something else before he moved to work as part of show business."

James frowned to himself before shaking his head. "No, he never mentioned it. I got the feeling that there was something he didn't want us asking about, but I never pressed it. I didn't have a reason to mistrust him, and I understand that everyone has a secret or two that they'd rather not have getting out. I figured that if it was something that we desperately needed to know, we would find a way to hear about it," he replied. 

"Your show has been running for about two and a half years now," I murmured. "It started filming when you were fourteen, if I recall correctly. If he's kept this secret for so long, then it's safe to assume that he would keep it hidden from nearly everybody for far longer. I doubt that he would tell anybody about his previous activities unless he absolutely had to."

"Why are you asking about this?" James questioned after a moment of hesitation. "Is there something about him that you think needs investigation? I have to admit, you're kind of worrying me with the way that you're talking about his previous activities, but I suppose it can't really be helped..." 

"We think that the motive behind this case could have something to do with his previous occupation, that's all," Felicity answered with a loose shrug. "There's nothing for you to worry about regarding it though. We're going to work this all out, and then everything will be fine. We'll figure out who committed this crime, and they're not going to get away with anything else like this ever again. That much is a promise from us both. Isn't that right, Chrysalis?"

Upon being addressed, I nodded. "Of course," I agreed. I was halfway expecting James to grow tense and nervous at my words given how detached I knew I was acting, but he didn't react in that way at all. Instead, his shoulders slumped with relief, and a light smile appeared on his face. I never would have guessed something like that would happen, but I wasn't going to complain at all. After all, the happier he was, the better it was for all of us. 

"Are you really not going to tell us about what you think the victim was up to before he became a director?" Yuri asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe we could help you if we knew what we were searching for, but we can't exactly do that as long as you're keeping all these secrets from us."

"We think it would be for the best if we kept this information under wraps for as long as possible," I explained. "It's not meant to be a personal offense against anyone here. Instead, our priority is ensuring that nobody figures out something that they shouldn't be aware of. Trust me whenever I say that this is important to the strategy for this case."

Yuri watched me for a moment, and I almost expected her to say that she wanted to know anyways, but she instead shrugged it off and nodded. "Alright, I trust you," she told me, and I let out an internal sigh of relief. Thank goodness that Yuri knew how to back off when she absolutely had to. 

I glanced up to Felicity to see if she had anything to ask them about, but she didn't look over in my direction at all. Instead, her full attention was on James. "Have you learned anything new about the case? Has the prosecution stopped by to speak with you?" she questioned. 

James nodded. "I wouldn't exactly say that I've learned anything new, but the two prosecutors were here earlier. They were far nicer than I would have expected, to put it simply... That isn't to say that I thought they were going to be mean, but..."

"Prosecutor Lin can be a bit overwhelming at times, and Prosecutor Wood isn't the best about talking to others," I finished for him, knowing what he was trying to get at before he even came close to finishing his explanation. 

"Yes, exactly," James agreed, heaving a sigh of relief that I understood. "They didn't have anything new for me to hear about, but I still believe that they think I'm innocent. I believe that works out well for us in the grand scheme of things, so perhaps we should remember this throughout the rest of the case."

"We're going to work with them to find the truth behind this case," Felicity assured the trio with a wide grin. "I promise you. There's nothing for you to worry about at all. In fact, I think that you're alright to go home if you wanted to. Tomorrow, James, we're going to work everything out."

I was surprised that Felicity was declaring with such confidence that James was going home the next day, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead, I simply looked at her out of the corner of my eye with an expression that was as passive as I could manage. After I was finished examining her though, I shifted my focus back to James, Anton, and Yuri, and I found that they were all smiling brightly. 

"Thank you for all of this," James told us with a gentle bow of his head. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow's segment of the trial, and I trust that you'll be able to get me out of here without any further issues. I'm going to owe you for everything that you've done to help me."

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged. Yuri's jaw dropped at the fact that I was brushing off his claims of debt, but I didn't give her a second glance. "Try to get some sleep before the trial tomorrow. I know that it can be exhausting, and the detention center beds aren't exactly comfortable." I did my best to hold back a cringe at the memory of the previous case our agency had tackled. I just hoped that James' luck in the detention center was at least a little bit better than mine had been. Then again, chances were high that I was worrying for nothing given that he didn't seem to have any enemies the way that I did. 

James nodded and smiled. He gave us a gentle wave as we all headed for the door, and I returned the gesture before leaving the area behind. We were almost to the end of this case if Felicity's words were to be believed, and I wasn't going to drag this out any longer than necessary. There were too many people counting on us at this point, and I refused to let any of them down. James was going to be set free, and the truth was going to be uncovered. I was going to make sure of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for updates!
> 
> -Digital


	28. Turnabout Live, Part 8

**August 8**

**Defendant Lobby No. 4**

**9:45 AM**

**James Devine**

The next morning came without any permission from me, and I was forced to shuffle through the detention center so that I could go to the courthouse. I hadn't slept well the night before at all, and my mind was still spinning with the idea of having to be social. I normally loved being around people, but given the situation, all I wanted to do was curl up and block out the rest of the world. 

When I arrived, I could see that Chrysalis, Felicity, Yuri, and Anton were already waiting for me in the defendant lobby. I approached them slowly, putting on a brave face even though my nerves were rattling around constantly inside me. "Lovely day for a trial, wouldn't you say?" I prompted. Despite saying that, I didn't think it was true in the slightest. 

"Morning, James!" Yuri exclaimed, clapping her hands together out of excitement. "It's good to see you here. It seems like we're going to be able to get you out of the detention center today, and you'll be free to go home without any issues. Are you excited to finally be able to leave that place?"

I nodded with a wide smile. Even if I was anxious as could be, the idea of going home was something that I desperately needed to cling to. My mother was likely waiting for me. She hadn't come out to watch the trial as far as I was aware, but I wasn't exactly surprised. She tended to push herself too far out of stress and worry for others, and it was definitely for the best that she held back on coming to visit me if she thought that she needed a bit of time to examine everything from a distance. I couldn't wait to see her again, to say the least. 

"Nobody likes staying in the detention center," Chrysalis sighed with a shake of her head. I noticed her rubbing at her shoulder, but I didn't call her out on it, figuring that the subject wasn't one that I wanted to push. She was distant enough from me as it was, and the last thing I wanted to do was to push her even further away. 

"We're starting to put the pieces together now, so we should be able to end it all without any issues today... You know, if a few specific theories of ours wind up being correct," Felicity told me with a bright grin. "It's nice to see that you're feeling perky today though. I know that trials can stress people out at times."

She had no idea just how stressed out I was. I was thankful for my acting skills since the kept others from picking up on just how nervous I was about the outcome of this trial. If I was forced to think about it for even a second longer than I absolutely had to, chances were I would begin to panic. There was no way of saying for sure that this trial would end in our favor. 

This wasn't to say that I didn't trust the prosecution. Both of them were clearly good at their jobs and understood what they were doing, and I figured that they would do what was for the best. If everyone else around me seemed to trust them, I would follow suit. 

My primary issue was with the legal system as a whole. My memories of my father had always been limited, but I could say without a shadow of a doubt that he was fighting against a corrupted legal system while he was still alive. He never wanted to see people hurt by the system itself, and that was part of the reason why he became an attorney in the first place. I always found it admirable, and I didn't understand how anyone would be able to think of it as anything but good. Granted, the fact that the system needed fixing in the first place was far from being good, but I still believe my intentions and admiration were properly portrayed. 

"I'm sure that it's all going to be fine," Yuri suddenly said, snapping me out of my trance. Nobody seemed to realize that there was anything bothering me in the first place aside from maybe Chrysalis, who was watching me with an unreadable expression just like always. 

"We've got everything almost entirely sorted out, so there's nothing to fear," Felicity assured me, and her hand came down on my shoulder in a reassuring gesture a moment later. I looked up to her with a smile, allowing my hand to rise up and hold her fingers in my own. It was an incredibly kind thing of her to do, and I wanted her to understand how much I appreciated it. 

"Are y-you going to be o-okay?" Anton questioned, turning his attention to me. He was rocking back and forth between his toes and heels, likely because he simply needed something to do with himself. 

I nodded in response, pushing aside all thoughts about this potentially not being true. "Of course. I'm going to be fine soon, and I'm sure that these two lovely ladies will be more than able to get me out of the detention center without any issues," I answered, flashing yet another smile over at Felicity and Chrysalis. 

Felicity nodded in response. "Of course! We should probably head inside sooner rather than later just to make sure that we're ready for what's to come. Finding the truth about what happened is likely going to come naturally once the trial happens, but it never hurts to be extra prepared," she told me. 

I looked over at the doors to the courtroom, and I had to resist the urge to squirm where I stood at the sight of it. Even after talking with the others, I still hated the idea of having to go inside. I knew it couldn't be avoided, but it was uncomfortable to me regardless. I wanted to be able to enjoy the benefits of the case being won without actually having to go through the stress of it all. 

"It's going to be alright. Promise."

My eyes wandered over to the person who had spoken over to my right, and I saw that Chrysalis was watching me solemnly. Her expression was still unreadable, though I shouldn't have been surprised in the slightest. She had proven herself already to be the type to hide most things, and I honestly never would have guessed that she was close to my age if not for others telling me. 

"Alright, James! That's enough staring at Chrysalis!" Yuri suddenly declared, and she forced herself into my field of vision by pressing her shoulder gently against Chrysalis' side. The older girl didn't seem to mind it in the slightest, and the most frustration she spared Yuri was a perplexed glance before she seemed to slip back into distant and indescribable understanding. 

"We had better get into the trial now," Yuri continued, reaching out to take my hand in her own. "You don't need to worry about what's to come at all. Promise." She sent me a wink before starting to guide me towards the doors of the courtroom. When the time came for us to go our separate ways, Yuri waved, and Anton did the same before the pair darted away. 

"It's going to be fine," Felicity assured me again, still smiling like nothing was wrong. She wrapped an arm around Chrysalis' shoulder, and the younger girl stumbled before falling easily into her grasp. Chrysalis gave Felicity an expression of shock before correcting herself and going back to her previous passive mask. 

I watched as Felicity and Chrysalis made their way into the courtroom, and a smile appeared on my face. It was all going to be fine. I would have been lying if I said that I wasn't nervous, but I still felt far better about it than before. If they believed that it was all going to be alright, I was going to trust them. They knew what they were doing, after all, and their work had already proven itself to be impressive the day before. Maybe there wasn't as much for me to worry about as I had originally feared. 

**August 8**

**Courtroom No. 4**

**10:00 AM**

**Felicity Amaya**

When we got into the courtroom, I began to examine at my surroundings. Prosecutor Wood was standing next to Prosecutor Lin just like the day before. The former was just as nervous as she always had been, and she seemed to be constantly fidgeting. Prosecutor Lin was smiling serenely just like always, seeming as if she had the whole situation under control regardless of how true that was. 

Judge Frost was sitting at the top of the room, gavel in hand. She hit it against the podium before her. "Court is now in session for the trial of James Devine. Are the defense and prosecution ready to begin?" she questioned. 

"The prosecution is ready," Prosecutor Lin replied after giving her partner a brief glance to make sure that the statement was accurate. Prosecutor Wood seemed to have finished organizing her papers, but she continued to mess around with them because she didn't seem to want to pay full attention to the courtroom as a whole. I couldn't blame her in the slightest given how young she was. She was doing something awfully nerve-wracking at such a young age, so she definitely deserved her space and more. 

I looked over to Chrysalis once I was finished examining the prosecutors, and I saw that she was watching me intently. Her expression was difficult to read, but I was still able to gleam what I needed from it without too many issues. "The defense is also ready," I confirmed. 

"Good," Judge Frost nodded. "I would like you to present the results of the previous investigation. When we last left the courtroom, it was because you wanted to learn more about all that was happening involving the victim's office. The door was finally unlocked, so you were able to look around inside for further clues regarding the truth behind this case, if I recall correctly."

"That is accurate, yes," Prosecutor Lin told her before glancing over to Prosecutor Wood. "And my partner here would be more than happy to summarize everything that has been happening involving the investigation. Why don't you go on and tell the court about what we found yesterday while we were looking around the crime scene?"

Prosecutor Wood didn't seem too shocked by Prosecutor Lin suddenly shifting the focus to her. In fact, she almost seemed to see it coming. She stopped fidgeting with the papers in front of her before pulling out one sheet in particular. Judging by the subject, I assumed that it contained notes about the investigation from the previous day. It certainly didn't hurt to have a script to follow given how easily she could be made anxious, so I simply watched with understanding eyes. 

"Of course," Prosecutor Wood said, swallowing dryly out of nerves. "We were able to get into the victim's office yesterday after the door was unlocked. We looked around and found that there was an area inside that was covered with blood. The victim was clearly killed in his office before being moved out of the space as soon as the bleeding had evened out. As far as we can tell, he was sitting at his desk when he was attacked. There wasn't a struggle either. Everything in the room was perfectly organized."

"What about the murder weapon?" Judge Frost questioned. "I know that we were trying to find that yesterday. Perhaps it was uncovered in the victim's office yesterday."

Prosecutor Wood shook her head. "No... I'm afraid not," she replied with a light sigh. "The murder weapon is still unaccounted for. The same applies to the ring of keys that can be used to open up all of the doors in the building. We haven't found any traces of either one, and we have no idea where they could possibly be. Investigators have searched practically every inch of the building at this point, so the only outcome that remains would have the killer taking both of these items with them after they finished committing the crime."

I shot a glance over to Chrysalis to see if she had any thoughts on all of this, but she was completely inscrutable. She was looking down at the wood of the defense bench, and her eyes had gone glassy due to a lack of focus. I got the feeling that she was trying to piece together everything that was being said, and I wished that there was something I could have done to help her out, but I seriously doubted that there was anything I would be able to do. 

"The prosecution would like to call an important witness to the stand at this time," Prosecutor Lin declared after Prosecutor Wood had finished speaking. "Yesterday, a cameraman was mentioned to have been present at the time that the body was discovered. He took a video of everything that happened, and we would like to ask him about what he saw. We'll be able to watch the video here as well."

"I see," Judge Frost murmured with a light nod. "Please call your witness at this time, Prosecutor Lin."

The woman grinned upon getting confirmation, and she snapped her fingers playfully before pointing to the witness stand. "The prosecution now calls Lucas Gassman to the witness stand," she announced. 

The courtroom fell silent as Mr. Gassman made his way up to the podium. He seemed to be rather anxious, never quite able to sit completely still due to the countless eyes that seemed to be locked on him at all times. He was messing around with the camera in his hands, focusing on it rather than staring at the people watching back at him from the gallery. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost announced. Her gaze was stoic and detached, but I got the feeling that she was just as curious as the rest of us were. 

"My name is Lucas Gassman," Mr. Gassman responded after swallowing nervously. "I work as a cameraman for a local radio station. It was the same radio station hosting the lottery that led to the backstage tour that uncovered the body."

"You were there when the body was discovered, so you surely must have seen something. However, we aren't going to ask you for your testimony on the subject just yet," Prosecutor Lin declared. "Instead, we would like to see the video that you took at the time of the tour. You were recording it for the sake of the radio station's website, if I recall correctly, and you happened to capture the moment that the body was first uncovered. If it's alright with everyone here, I believe that we should view this video and make our next decision from there."

Mr. Gassman nodded his understanding. "I did take a video at the time of the body's discovery, and if you really want to see it, I think that would be alright... If there's a TV around here, maybe we could set it up."

Prosecutor Lin smiled to herself. "Oh, there's nothing to worry about here. I already did what I could to take care fo this so that we wouldn't have any problems by the time that we finally needed to view the video and see what was going on at the time. I think that we can go on and have it set up now, as a matter of fact."

As if on cue, a bailiff with purple hair appeared and pushed a TV up to the space between the defense and prosecution benches. He was a young man who appeared to be a few years older than Chrysalis, and he gave her a brief wave. Chrysalis returned the gesture with a stilted smile before the bailiff began to fiddle with the television set properly. It only took him a few seconds from then to get everything in working order, and a wide smile spread across his face once it had all been worked out. 

The young man grabbed a remote from a shelf beneath the screen before moving over to the prosecution bench. He pressed the device into Prosecutor Lin's hand before taking his position off to the side of the TV set, likely to make sure that nothing went too wrong while we were waiting for it to start working. He was silent as Prosecutor Lin pressed down on the power button, and the screen whirred to life before shifting onto an image that made me grin suddenly. 

It looked just like the scene of the crime. The victim was stretched out on the ground of James' dressing room, and the space was just as messy as it had been before. The picture was frozen, and Prosecutor Lin let out a small laugh as soon as she realized. "Oops! Sorry, that's my bad. I guess we should rewind it," she chuckled. "I watched the video for the first time during the brief period before the trial started while I was in the prosecution lobby, and it appears that I forgot to reset it for the trial. Excuse me for a moment."

I watched as the video quickly played in reverse, but I wasn't able to catch much of anything on the way back to the beginning. As soon as it had reached the other end, the video paused, and Prosecutor Lin glanced around to make sure that everyone was ready to watch it. When she didn't see a reason to hold off any longer, she nodded to herself and pressed down on the play button, prompting the film to start once again. I bit down on my lip, working the skin between my teeth as I wondered what I would see next. 

The video started out in the parking lot outside of the studios. I remembered that the point had been to record the tour as a whole rather than just the discovery of the body, so this made a striking amount of sense. I watched as Yuri, Anton, Prosecutor Wood, Mukuro, and Chrysalis all came into frame, seeming rather excited about everything. James appeared not long afterwards, and he led the group into the building properly. The camera jerked around slightly as Mr. Gassman moved up the stairs into the studios. 

I could see Chrysalis frowning out of the corner of my eye, but I had no idea what was bothering her so much. She was practically glaring a hole through the center of the screen, and it was more than a little uncomfortable to see. I kept on glancing over at her to see if anything had changed, but even as the video of the tour went on, she never stopped staring intently. I got the feeling she had picked up on something that I was missing, but I didn't want to ask her about it until after the video had finished being replayed. I would have all the time in the world to be curious after I had figured out what happened at the time of the body's discovery. 

Soon enough, the film transitioned into the discovery of the corpse, and I could feel my hand growing tense with nerves as the moment of fate came closer. I could see the group of teenagers gathered outside the dressing room where the body was found, and a frown was on James' face. He had found a sign on his door saying that other people had to stay out, and he seemed perplexed about it being there at all. James picked up the sign off the floor after it fell, and he examined it briefly before pushing the door open and walking inside. The body was stretched out on the floor, and I immediately cringed at the sight of the corpse. I didn't think I would ever be able to get used to such senseless death no matter how long I worked in the legal field. 

The video cut off soon after all of the teenagers fell into panic, and Prosecutor Lin looked over to us with a frown. "Alright... Was there anything during that video that struck you as being odd?" she questioned. At first, I wondered why she was asking me, but then I realized that it wasn't directed at me at all. Her gaze was latched solely onto her younger sister. 

Chrysalis snapped out of her trance upon hearing Prosecutor Lin's voice, and she hesitated before glancing my direction. I still didn't understand what she was trying to say, so all I could do was watch silently as she nodded. "Yes, there was," she replied. "It was incredibly subtle, but if you listened closely, you could hear a small tapping sound of two pieces of metal hitting each other."

Prosecutor Lin frowned, tilting her head to the side in confusion before deciding to rewind the video. Chrysalis spoke up as the film played back. "Go to the part where Mr. Gassman was walking up the stairs to enter the studio. That was where I first noticed it," she explained, and Prosecutor Lin nodded before following suit. 

As the images played back, I waited silently, but then the sound on the video came back into play as we reached the point of note. I listened carefully for the tapping sound, and sure enough, I recognized it. In fact, it sounded exactly like the noise that we had detected from Mr. Gassman the day before when we were speaking with him outside of the studio. The similarities were undeniable, and I couldn't help but wonder if the culprit behind the tapping noise had been present even before the crime took place. 

"You're right," Judge Frost murmured with a light frown. "Do you have any idea what the source of this sound could be?"

Chrysalis shook her head. "I'm not sure, but this sound was present yesterday when we spoke to the witness out in the parking lot of the studio. When he rocked back and forth, we could hear the tapping sound, but I didn't know where it could have possibly come from. This video makes it clear that the sound was present at the time of the body's discovery as well, and I have to wonder if that's relevant." 

"The sound was so quiet that it wouldn't have been heard given the distance between the other witnesses and the person currently on the stand," I pointed out. "The camera was far closer to him though, so it was able to detect the noise... I wish I knew what it could mean for the case though. I get the feeling that it somehow ties into the mystery, but I don't have the slightest idea how that could be."

Prosecutor Lin frowned before snapping her fingers together. "I remember yesterday that one of the witnesses said something about the bag holding all of the camera equipment," she declared. "I'm sure that you all recall the way that Mr. Burke spoke about the bag with incredible anxiety and fear. He said that it was rather large and caught him by surprise. Perhaps the bag was the culprit behind the sound... Something inside must have caused the tapping."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Mr. Gassman suddenly said, but I had the feeling he wasn't talking about what Anton had said in the slightest. Instead, he seemed to be concentrated on the bag resting against his shoulders, and his hands were fidgeting nervously with the straps. "The bag is absolutely packed with equipment, and I don't think that it could have made a noise like that. Everything was too tightly packed to possibly rattle enough to make a noise like that, and the zippers aren't responsible either. I would have noticed if that was the case."

"If he really wants us to stop being suspicious of him, maybe he should just let us look in the bag already," Chrysalis muttered, but she didn't raise her voice loud enough for anyone else to hear. "He told us that nothing could have been snagged on the bag when we were talking to him yesterday, but there's always the chance that something did get caught and he's just hiding it from us."

"He could certainly have a motive to do that," I murmured. "If he's somehow tied into this case, then he would want to keep everyone from finding out the truth about the bag... I wish that we could just look at everything that's in there already. It's a real bother."

"Perhaps we should have the witness offer a testimony regarding his thoughts from the time of the crime," Prosecutor Lin suddenly declared, snapping me out of my conversation with Chrysalis. "We have him here so that we can ask questions, and I don't think that we're going to be able to find the full story if we don't talk about what he was thinking about during all of this."

Judge Frost nodded her agreement. "Witness, I would like you to testify to the court about what you were thinking at the time of the body's discovery. Please tell us everything that was going through your head as you were recording during this crucial point," she said firmly. 

Mr. Gassman hesitated before nodding. "Alright," he said softly, though I could tell that he was still nervous about this subject. I couldn't quite identify the cause of his anxiety, but I didn't think that it was involved with the atmosphere of the courtroom in the slightest. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions; I couldn't bring myself to care. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Body's Discovery ~**

_-"When I first arrived at the studios, I got to work by recording everything that was happening. Everyone was counting on me to take care of that, and I didn't want to let them down."_

_-"The teenagers were all excited, and I was happy to follow after them. I didn't think that anything was wrong at first, but..."_

_-"James seemed anxious somehow. I think that he was nervous because of what he did. I still believe that he was responsible for the crime."_

_-"He's known for being a talented actor. He wouldn't have gotten the lead role in the show if not for his skills, and I think that he used them when the body was found."_

_-"The sign on the door was strange, but I don't think that we can take his surprise over it as evidence that he didn't commit the crime. He knows how to hide things when he wants to."_

_-"Overall, I believe that he committed the crime. So what if he didn't have a motive? There are some twisted people out there who just kill for the sake of it, and you never know what's going through a person's head in times like this."_

I frowned after he finished his testimony. It appeared that he was intent on remaining as stubborn as possible on the subject of James' guilt. No matter how much evidence we had, he simply wasn't going to be hearing us out because he was too determined to be right. It was a dangerous mindset, placing one's own pride above the power of justice and truth. Still, I didn't openly call him out on it, instead biting my tongue and looking over to Chrysalis. 

She didn't seem to be convinced in the slightest either, and when she glanced my direction, her expression was almost spiteful. "He's claiming that James faked it all again... I don't think that he's being honest when he says that he thinks James was lying. I just find it hard to believe that James' shock wasn't genuine. The lack of a motive is fishy too. I almost think that this is coming from a place of desperation."

"That wouldn't surprise me," I admitted with a sigh. "I know that there's not much we can do about it without blowing his testimony open though. Maybe we should bring up our secret weapon now to try and figure out our next step..."

Chrysalis nodded in agreement. "I think it would be a good idea to let everyone know about that. We can figure out how it factors into all of this after we've told the world about it. There's less danger in mentioning it in the courtroom than an investigation where there aren't as many witnesses. Let's use the atmosphere to our advantage and show him just what we've uncovered."

I glanced up at Mr. Gassman and frowned. Even if he seemed like a decent person, I couldn't help but feel bothered about what he clearly wasn't telling us. There was something going on, and even if we didn't know exactly what it was quite yet, I knew it had to be important. Between the bag and his firm belief that James was guilty, it was clear as day that there was something that he wasn't telling us. 

"I believe it's time for the cross-examination to begin," Judge Frost suddenly declared, immediately earning my attention. Chrysalis glanced up at her as well, and I knew without having to check that we felt the same way. Judge Frost was right, and we had to ask Mr. Gassman about his testimony in detail. 

"We'll get right to it," I assured her with a confident nod. I didn't know how all of this was meant to come together quite yet, but I was going to figure it out one way or another. His secretive nature wasn't going to keep me from uncovering the truth about what had happened. We had promised that James was going to be freed, and I wasn't about to let our words slip into falsity after how far we had come. Mr. Gassman wasn't going to get away with hiding anything as long as we were on the case! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to sleep more oop
> 
> -Digital


	29. Turnabout Live, Part 9

**August 8**

**Courtroom No. 4**

**10:45 AM**

**Felicity Amaya**

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Body's Discovery ~**

_-"When I first arrived at the studios, I got to work by recording everything that was happening. Everyone was counting on me to take care of that, and I didn't want to let them down."_

_-"The teenagers were all excited, and I was happy to follow after them. I didn't think that anything was wrong at first, but..."_

_-"James seemed anxious somehow. I think that he was nervous because of what he did. I still believe that he was responsible for the crime."_

_-"He's known for being a talented actor. He wouldn't have gotten the lead role in the show if not for his skills, and I think that he used them when the body was found."_

_-"The sign on the door was strange, but I don't think that we can take his surprise over it as evidence that he didn't commit the crime. He knows how to hide things when he wants to."_

_-"Overall, I believe that he committed the crime. So what if he didn't have a motive? There are some twisted people out there who just kill for the sake of it, and you never know what's going through a person's head in times like this."_

"Objection!" 

I let out a small sigh as soon as I had called out for him to stop his testimony, and I crossed my arms over my chest. "You're insisting that he killed simply because he could... Still, there have been multiple occasions where he touched upon the fact that he thought of the rest of the cast as his family," I pointed out. 

"That's simply because I believe that he could have very much so been lying about his connection with the rest of the cast. What makes you so sure that he's telling the truth in the first place?" Mr. Gassman questioned. 

"What makes you so sure that he's lying?" I bit back. "Besides, if you think about it critically, you'll see that this couldn't have been the case in the slightest. You see, James has been part of the show for quite some time, and there are many others who he has come to know because of his leading role. They would all know if he was lying about this, and I'm sure that we would have heard about it by now."

Prosecutor Lin nodded her agreement. "Yes, she's right. I don't think that you're fully listening to what we have to say about all of this. You're trying to push the agenda that James committed the crime, but your evidence seems flimsy at best. Is there any reason in particular that you would think that he's responsible?" she questioned. 

Mr. Gassman shrugged. "I just find him to be suspicious. Think about it. He's an actor, so he could have easily lied his way through this, and none of us would be at all the wiser. I think that you're jumping to conclusions when you think that he couldn't have done this," he remarked. 

"There has to be something else we can say that will convince him," I told Chrysalis, looking over to the younger girl. "He's been so stubborn up to this point, but there's got to be some proof about who really committed this crime. That's the only way that we're going to get him to accept any other possibilities."

"I don't even know if that's going to work," Chrysalis admitted with a frown. "What we need here is solid proof... Let's think back to the time of the crime... Actually, no. Let's think about the time where the body was discovered and if there was anything that stuck out to us as odd. Are you thinking what I am? I think we might have discovered our evidence."

I paused to think about what she could have meant, allowing the pieces to slide together in my head. I didn't want her to tell me when I knew I would be able to figure it out on my own, so I allowed my mind to race until the facts finally seemed to come into place. A gasp left my lips, and when I looked over at Chrysalis this time, I could see that she was smirking. 

"You're thinking about the footprint, aren't you?" I questioned softly to keep the rest of the court from hearing. "The footprint in the makeup powder is going to make Mr. Gassman seem really suspicious if he was the one who left it behind."

"We've already established that James couldn't have been the one to leave the footprint behind. It was too clean for James to be responsible for it. Everybody else who was there at the time couldn't have made it either given how small all of our feet are by comparison," Chrysalis agreed with a light nod. "The only other possibility for who the footprint could belong to is the victim, but I doubt that it could have been him. After all, he would have already been dead by that point in time, and it isn't as if the dead are going to be able to come back to life just for the sake of walking through some spilled makeup. It must have been someone who was among the living."

"And the only person who seems to fit that bill is Mr. Gassman," I concluded with a frown. I looked up to the man in question, my eyes narrowing in response. "The defense would like to temporarily divert the court's attention away from the recent testimony and towards one of the other facts of this case that we've already stumbled upon."

"What fact would that be?" Judge Frost questioned, raising an eyebrow in my direction. 

"It's about the footprint that was found at the scene of the crime," I explained. "We already know for sure that the defendant couldn't have left it behind. We're positive of that fact thanks to the use of logic on the footprint. It was far too firm and large for him to have made it, and if he had bothered a shoe so much larger than his regular size, he would have likely slipped on the powder. That means that the culprit, the one who moved the body, must have been the one to step through the powder, and I believe that I've figured out whose foot size would happen to match that one."

The gallery above burst into chatter, but Judge Frost wasn't having any of it, instead raising her gavel and slamming it back down a fraction of a second later to keep everyone quiet. They fell silent almost immediately, and Judge Frost didn't even given them a second glance. "Go on and tell us then... Who do you believe left behind the footprint at the scene of the crime?" she questioned. 

"It's none other than the witness, Mr. Lucas Gassman!" I exclaimed, pointing to the witness stand. "I'm positive that he must have been the one involved given that none of the other parties at the scene of the crime could have left behind that footprint. We have only one option, and it has to be him."

Prosecutor Lin placed one hand on her chin in a show of contemplation, but I could tell that she agreed and was simply pretending to consider her options. "That would most certainly make sense... It's the only logical conclusion that we can come to at this point," she agreed before looking over to where Mr. Gassman was standing. "What do you have to say in response to this, witness?"

Mr. Gassman looked around at us for a moment before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "I don't see what you think you're going to accomplish by being so mean to me... I was just trying to state my thoughts on the matter of the murder. I thought that he was involved, but then you came out here and just started to attack my opinions for no reason," he muttered. 

"This isn't a matter of opinion," Chrysalis suddenly cut in, a frown on her face. "This is a matter of life and death for the defendant, and on top of that, we need to figure out who the culprit is so that they don't run free. Also, while we're talking, how about you stop dodging the question and tell the court about your thoughts regarding the shoe and the makeup powder? You know, since you're so intent on sharing your opinions today."

Mr. Gassman actually appeared to have been taken aback by her words, and I have to admit that I was too. I hadn't expected Chrysalis to bite back so hard, but I wasn't mad at it in the slightest. In fact, I was actually proud of the way that she had fought against him given the circumstances. I made a mental note to tell her about such, but until the trial was over, I had other matters to focus on, and Mr. Gassman was at the top of that list. 

Speaking of him, Mr. Gassman was staring at Chrysalis in surprise. He soon managed to correct his expression into something that didn't speak of blatant shock, and he shook his head to keep from seeming too surprised by her sarcastic comment. He let out a sigh that seemed like it weighed a thousand pounds. "I don't think that I could have committed the crime," he declared. 

I was about to say something about how anyone would say that when they were cornered in this way, but I managed to keep from being too snarky. Instead, I chose to watch silently as Mr. Gassman leaned over and slid his shoe from his foot. He showed off the bottom of it, and just like one would expect, there was no powder there. 

I wasn't going to let this stop me though. "The culprit wouldn't have wanted to simply leave the traces of the footprint behind for anyone to find them. You couldn't get rid of the signs that were at the scene of the crime, but you sure as hell could eliminate the other half of the evidence. You could have washed the powder off using water or simply changed out of those shoes. The size is what matters most for the time being. Besides, I believe that we would be more than able to find the shoes in question if we sent a group of investigators out to find them within your home," I announced. 

Mr. Gassman gave me a hardened glare. "What is it that you're trying to say?" he asked, but I could tell that he was just as aware of what I was insinuating as I was. He was simply choosing to deny it because he thought it would be easier for him to cope with.

"I think that you're the one responsible for this crime. That's what I'm trying to say!" I declared, pointing one finger towards Mr. Gassman. "We don't have any signs as to where you were at the time of the crime, your footprint appears to match up with the traces left behind in the area, and you've been pretty open about accusing the defendant when there is more than enough evidence to show that he's innocent. This isn't painting you in a very favorable light."

The gallery started to chatter once again, and I looked over to Chrysalis with a smirk plastered on my face. There was pride in her eyes, but she didn't allow herself to be too caught up in it all, likely because she knew that this wasn't over. I was fully aware of that too, but I still found myself happy with what we had just declared. We were getting closer, and that was what mattered. 

Judge Frost's gavel suddenly pierced through my thoughts as she hit it against the table before her a few times. She waited for the courtroom to fall silent before turning her attention over to where I was standing with Chrysalis. Her gaze was stern and showed just how solemn of an accusation this was. "You truly believe that the victim was killed by the current witness?" she questioned. 

I nodded. "I believe that this is the best way to make all of the pieces slide into place," I confirmed. "He was unaccounted for at the time, and we've already found a way to clear everybody else involved. His firm accusations about the defendant being responsible don't make him seem innocent given all that we've uncovered. There's too much showing that James couldn't have done it, and yet, the witness is blatantly ignoring all of these facts without hesitation."

"You're all picking on me for no reason," Mr. Gassman suddenly declared, his hands held up in mock surrender as he glanced over in my direction. His eyes were wide and fearful, but he didn't seem to mean it. Something about the expression felt superficial, and I got the feeling that he was faking this primarily because he wanted to garner sympathy from the rest of the court. 

"If we're truly 'picking on you for no reason', it shouldn't be a problem at all for you to tell us about what you were doing at the time of the victim's murder," Chrysalis told him. Her eyes were sharp and seemed to pierce right through Mr. Gassman, barely seeing him in favor of the sight of justice on the other side of him. 

Mr. Gassman once again seemed surprised by her accusation, and he let out a sigh before shaking his head. "I really think that you're being mean to me solely because it's easier than admitting that your client could have done this. You lawyers are all the same. You never tell the truth unless it's in your favor, and I don't think that I'll ever change my mind as long as you're mean to me like this."

"We aren't here for your opinion," Chrysalis said, seeming to be on the verge of verbally snapping at him. "We've asked you for the facts time and time again, and yet, you seem more than happy to gleefully ignore our requests in favor of turning everything around on us. If you're really innocent, then you'll tell us all about what happened at the time of the crime. You have a legal obligation to be honest given the dire circumstances, and I don't think that you want to find yourself on the receiving end of that."

Mr. Gassman looked desperately in the direction of Prosecutor Lin, practically begging her with his eyes to defend him. Still, all she did was smile nervously and shrug, trying to seem relatable and awkward despite how clearly sold she was on the fact that he was involved with the crime. "I think that they're right. You should tell the court about what you were up to at the time. There's no way for us to clear your name unless you talk, and I don't think that you want to wind up in jail for a crime that you didn't commit," she told him. 

"Or... Maybe he doesn't have to say anything," I found myself muttering without being sure of where it was coming from. It earned me a sideways glance from Chrysalis, but she didn't openly question me on it. "Perhaps there's a piece of evidence that will tell us if he committed the crime without him needing to talk about it."

Chrysalis continued to watch me, and her eyes suddenly went wide. "You know... You might be right," she whispered. "There's one thing I want to bring up in the video before we completely move on and focus on what this special piece of evidence could be. Do you know what it is?"

I paused, thinking over what she could possibly be referring to, and it suddenly hit me as a smirk appeared on my face. "Let me guess... You're thinking about the sign that was placed outside of James' room to keep everybody out," I said, and when Chrysalis responded with a nod, I knew that I had struck gold without a shadow of a doubt. If she was thinking about it still, then I was willing to trust her judgement and say that there was something else going on there with it. 

"If James committed the crime, he wouldn't have put up the sign, but I feel like that's relatively obvious," Chrysalis began. "However, there is one other thing that we should factor in regarding the sign... I doubt that there are any fingerprints to be found on the sign. Perhaps that's just the point that we're looking for at this point though."

I tilted my head to the side with a frown. "What are you talking about?" I asked. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but it still felt like it was on the tip of my tongue and ready to be released. I just needed a tiny push in the right direction. 

"James wasn't wearing gloves when he was arrested, and there weren't any gloves found in his room. We would have heard about them by now if there were any gloves," Chrysalis told me. "So that means that somebody else must have committed the crime and worn gloves to keep from leaving behind fingerprints when handling the sign."

"James' costume on the show has gloves," came the sudden voice of Prosecutor Wood. "But all of the costumes would have been locked away in the costume closet, and the key to that was taken at the time of the crime. If he had hidden it at the crime scene, we would have found it by now, and yet, we haven't found anything... He couldn't have taken it with him anyways since it would have been found when he was searched upon being arrested."

"In conclusion, there's no way that he could have handled the sign to keep everyone out. Besides, why would he tell himself to stay out only to walk in on himself?" I agreed with a nod. "Somebody else must have handled the sign, and there's only one person who would have been able to do that. Mr. Gassman... You mentioned that you're a rather opinionated person, so how about you offer your input on the situation?"

Mr. Gassman shrugged. "I think there has to be something here that you aren't seeing. I want you to think critically about the case. There's got to be a piece of evidence to make it clear that the defendant was responsible for this crime. He wouldn't have been arrested for the crime if he was perfectly innocent," he replied. "Why don't you think back to everything that you've been saying thus far?"

"He's still not going to give in," Chrysalis frowned. "We've got so much evidence, and we're pushing so much harder than we have on anything else this case, but he's still refusing to admit that he could have done it. He's turning everything around on us too just to make sure that we don't step out of line. He's calling us the bad guys when there's evidence to show that he could have killed the victim. It's blatantly manipulative, but he's still turning it around to try and make us seem like the bad guys. We're just lucky that the judge isn't buying it."

"We're going to find a way to get him to shut it soon. I promise," Felicity assured me. "Now... How about we think about this in a different way? In a way, I suppose that it all leads back to the keys, and to a lesser extent in this situation, the gun. We have to find them, but they've been missing for ages, and there's nothing we can do to just drag them out of hiding."

"The keys and the gun... There's got to be some location where they could be hiding in, but I don't have any ideas. If they were still in the building, they would have been found already, but we still haven't stumbled upon anything. If James had them, they would have been confiscated when he was arrested, and he didn't exactly have time to sneak off and hide them somewhere before the tour began... It's ridiculous," Chrysalis murmured. "Unless the keys and gun have been in plain sight this whole time and we've just been silly... I don't know what we're supposed to do."

As we spoke, Mr. Gassman began to rock back and forth between his heels and toes. It was distant, but I could hear the clicking noise once again, and I focused on it with every part of my brain, trying to pull some answers out of thin air. The sound penetrated my every thought, and I found it difficult to think about anything aside from the stupid noise. I still didn't get what could have been causing that noise, and it had been there for ages. Since the beginning of the case, this had been an issue--

Wait. 

It had been there since the beginning of the case. 

The clicking noise had been there since the initial discovery of the body, and we still didn't know what could have been responsible for it. He wasn't allowing us to look into his bag, and that was only adding to my suspicion about the whole situation. There was something going on, but he wasn't going to allow us to actually say what it was. 

The clicking combined with the lack of the gun and keys left me feeling incredibly strange about the whole situation, and it was only until after I started to realize that all three of those facts were connected that the pieces started to finally slide into place. The clicking could have easily been caused by something else, but given that he wasn't letting us look into his gun to say for sure, I was thinking that it had to be involved with the two missing objects. 

"I figured it out," I whispered, and Chrysalis looked at me with a small frown. I couldn't even bring myself to look over at her as I stared down at the bench before me. The answer had been staring us in the face from the beginning, and we simply hadn't realized it. The culprit's nervous habits were going to show us everything that we were going to need to know. If not for Mr. Gassman's anxious actions, we never would have found the truth behind the case. 

Before Chrysalis had the chance to ask me what was happening, I was addressing the courtroom as a whole, and there was a light smirk on my face. "I've figured out what happened to the keys and gun used in the crime. We've been trying to find out the truth for quite some time, but it's been staring us in the face for just as long, and I think that it's time for us to uncover the truth," I announced. 

"What do you mean?" Judge Frost questioned, her expression set in a frown. "You believe that you've found the location of the gun and keys... If that's the case, then you must tell the court at once what happened to them."

"They aren't at the scene of the crime, so that means they must be somewhere else," Prosecutor Lin murmured, tilting her head slightly to the side. "We haven't been able to expand our search any further than the building where the body was found though. There aren't any other locations that have seemed relevant to our search."

"That's because the gun isn't to be found in a simple other location," I replied. "In fact, it's been here with us all along. If you will recall, we mentioned hearing a clicking noise as the witness moved during the video taken as the body was discovered. Said clicking noise could also be heard yesterday as we spoke with the witness in the parking lot of the studios. If you listen closely, we can still hear this noise right now as the witness moves back and forth between his feet."

As soon as he was called out on it, Mr. Gassman stopped moving, and he set his expression in a stony glare in my direction. "What are you talking about? I'm afraid I still don't understand what you could be getting at," he commented. He was playing innocent, but I could tell that he was fully aware of what I was trying to imply. He was simply denying it, but that wasn't going to work on me forever, especially since I had figured out the truth behind the case. 

"I've figured out where the clicking sound is coming from," I explained. "When there's noise from your bag, you deny it and say that nothing is wrong. I'm not going to allow that excuse to pass any longer, so how about we get right into it? Your bag is holding the secret of this case, and I'm tired of you passing everything off as if nothing is wrong. You've been keeping it all to yourself, but that isn't going to fly any longer. How about you open up that bag for the whole courtroom to see?"

Mr. Gassman frowned. "I don't see how my bag could possibly be related in the slightest to the truth behind this case. It's only filled with camera supplies. I had to record a video of the tour, so I had to make sure that I had all of the objects necessary for an impressive shot," he told us. 

"And yet, you've refused to open the bag for us. If it's really nothing notable, then it'll be fine for us to take a look inside. If you would please do us the honor of opening the bag, it would be very much so appreciated," I said. 

"Why are you asking me to do this?" Mr. Gassman questioned. "It's really feeling like you're going to try and accuse me of stuff I didn't do anymore. I think that you're being overly dramatic to try and pin this murder on me rather than accept that your client is guilty. I'm honestly disgusted at how rude you're being, and I don't know what I can even say on the matter. You're trying to manipulate me and pin this murder as my fault."

"Just open up the bag," Chrysalis snapped. "If it's not a big deal, you won't try to fight it. We think that you could have been involved with a murder, and that's serious grounds for us to investigate what's going on with you. If it's truly nothing for us to worry about, then this shouldn't matter in the first place. Quit making a big deal about it and just open the bag."

Mr. Gassman looked surprised at her outburst, and he couldn't even formulate a response out of shock. He sputtered wordlessly before letting out a sigh and looking down at the ground. He was silent even after his point of focus shifted away from Chrysalis. 

"All this time, we've been wondering about what could have happened to the gun and keys. However, I mentioned that the answer has been right in front of us, and it's quite literal as of right now," I explained. "When the witness shifts between his feet, a clicking sound can be heard. He's passed it off as being involved with the camera materials that he uses when recording videos, but... I believe that there's something more to it than that because he's been ignoring the idea of taking accountability."

"You can't possibly mean to say that..." came the whispered words of Prosecutor Lin. Her eyes had gone wide, and I knew that she had come to the same conclusion that I had. I could tell that she was wondering how she hadn't figured it out for herself up to that point, and if I was being honest, I felt the same way that she did. 

"The keys and the gun have been hiding in his bag all along," I answered with a firm nod. "The clicking sound that we've been hearing is involved with both of these objects. It's the gun and the keys, both buried deep within the camera bag, slapping against one another. He didn't realize that there was a sound at all. Most people don't notice it when their nervous habits cause subtle noise, and he didn't see it much like those others, but it's going to be his downfall. I'm positive that if we open up that bag, we're going to see everything we could have asked for regarding the objects that have gone missing!"

The gallery immediately exploded into chatter, and I looked over to Chrysalis with a light smile on my face. She seemed shocked about it all, but after she realized that I was right, she grinned in return. "This is exactly the break that we've been looking for. All that we have left to do is explain what happened at the time of the crime, and we can wrap things up from there. I'll leave the explanation to you," Chrysalis said. 

I grinned in her direction, silently thanking her for her trust in me. I shifted my focus back to the rest of the courtroom, remaining quiet as Judge Frost raised her gavel and slammed it down to earn the attention of the viewers. This was going to be our chance. We had come so far to prove that James hadn't committed the crime, but we still had to seal the deal, and this was our way to reach that point. 

I waited until the courtroom had fallen silent, and then I cleared my throat, earning me the attention of all those watching. "If it's alright with all of you, I would like to tell the court about the series of events leading up to and including the murder," I declared. When I got a nod from Judge Frost in return, I took in a deep breath. At long last, this nightmare was going to end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate how stressful school is
> 
> -Digital


	30. Turnabout Live, Part 10

**August 8**

**Courtroom No. 4**

**12:00 PM**

**Felicity Amaya**

"The crime took place the day of a scheduled tour at the Lady Bird Studios," I began. "However, an email was sent out a few hours before the tour began to say that no members of the cast were set to show up anymore. As of the time that this email had been sent, the crime had already been committed, and the victim had been dead for a while."

Chrysalis offered her opinion at this point, and she let out a small sigh before shaking her head. "The email was widely assumed to have been sent by the victim, but this is not necessarily the case. In fact, chances are that the culprit was the one to send out the email at the time of the crime. They wanted to keep the members of the cast and crew from interfering in their plans until after they had set up the crime scene to look the way that they needed it to."

"The victim was killed in his office when he came by to prepare for the tour," I continued. "He was shot in the head, and he died instantly. Blood was left everywhere in the area, but the killer didn't want the office to be found in the state that it was in, so they put the body on top of a rolling costume rack and decided to move it away from the room. They settled on placing the body in the room belonging to James Devine, the star of the show being filmed at the studios."

"That was when the emails were sent out," Chrysalis said next. "The killer only wanted James there so that he would be easier to frame. They set up the body in James' room before placing the rack in the room and covering up the bloodstained areas with clothing from other areas in the studios. The blood was wiped off, but there were still traces of it to be found in the region."

"The director's office was locked from there, and the window was blockaded to keep everyone out. The keys for the studios were used to lock up the area, keeping everyone away to ensure that nobody could interfere. The keys have been missing for quite some time since then, but I believe that they'll still be able to offer us important evidence yet," I declared. "Anyways, the point is that the body wound up in the defendant's dressing room."

"The culprit placed a sign over the door to make doubly sure that nobody investigated it until the time was right for the body to be discovered in a staged manner during the tour," Chrysalis continued. "The culprit handled quite a few objects at the scene of the crime, and I'm sure that we would be more than able to find out who was responsible if we compared fingerprints. Even if no official prints were left behind, the size would still be notable, and we could use that to narrow down our ideas as to who the culprit is."

"The killer didn't just leave behind marks using their hands though. In fact, they also left traces behind of their feet. They spilled powder in the defendant's dressing room as they were setting up the space to look how they wanted it to, and the spilled powder wound up absorbing a footprint from when they were trying to make their escape. The size of the footprint in the dressing room disproves the possibility of most people at the time having committed the crime," I told the court. 

Mr. Gassman was starting to look particularly nervous now, but he seemed to understand that speaking up would only hurt his case. Interrupting our explanation was far from being the best idea, so he instead went silent and looked at everything in the area that could keep him from making eye contact with the people around him. 

"The keys and gun used in the crime went missing," Chrysalis went on. "The culprit took both of these objects with them when they made their escape from the crime scene. The building where the crime took place was searched from top to bottom on multiple occasions, and yet, there were no traces of the gun or keys left behind. This means that the killer must have taken both the weapon and the keys with them when they were fleeing from the scene."

"We never would have found the location of the gun and keys if not for the nervous habit of the witness standing before us," I smirked. "He recorded the discovery of the body, and he was responsible for killing the victim as well. During the video where he showed the body being found, he was rocking back and forth. When he moved, a small clicking noise could be heard. It was the sound of metal hitting metal, and I believe that the keys and gun are responsible for this noise."

Prosecutor Lin seemed surprised for a fraction of a second before she glanced over to her assistant for the case. Prosecutor Wood nodded her agreement, thinking that it made sense as well. Prosecutor Lin reached out one hand and squeezed gently at the fingers of her partner, and Prosecutor Wood seemed to relax as the tension in her body disappeared into nothingness. 

"The keys and gun were taken by the culprit and hidden as part of the camera equipment used by the witness. His job at the time was to make sure that the tour was recorded so that it could be released," I announced. "He's been very resistant to showing us all what's in his bag, so perhaps now would be the perfect time for us to get in there. After all, if we have reason to believe that he's hiding a murder weapon on his person willingly... I think that's more than a perfect excuse to see what he has in that bag. I'm sure that everyone else in this courtroom would more than agree with me."

I cast a glance up to Judge Frost, and she nodded to show that she held the same beliefs. "Mr. Gassman, you can open the bag willingly, or you can give the bailiffs reason to search your person. If you are hiding a weapon used in a murder, then there is most certainly justification for someone to examine your possessions."

"This can't be legal," Mr. Gassman said with a deep frown. "I think that you're projecting on me to make it seem like I did this just because you can't find the actual culprit. Why are you turning this all around on me?"

"Why aren't you answering the question?" Chrysalis questioned, narrowing her eyes in his direction. "Now, why don't you make this easier on us all and just open up the bag before we force you to unzip it."

Mr. Gassman was surprised at her confidence for a moment, but he managed to shake himself free of his shock an instant later. "There's one other thing that you didn't mention during that big explanation at all! You completely ignored the fact that I would need a motive to kill the victim! You said that the defendant couldn't have done it because he doesn't have a motive, but that applies to me as well, so how about you answer my question?"

I glanced over to Chrysalis, and I saw that she was smirking in satisfaction as well. I nodded in her direction before shifting my attention back to Mr. Gassman fully. "Tell me, Mr. Gassman... Do you know what the victim was doing before he came to be a director?" I questioned. "He had a certain occupation before he decided to head into the film industry, and I'm simply curious as to if you have any ideas about it."

"Of course I know what he did," Mr. Gassman snapped, his voice uncharacteristically harsh all of a sudden. I could tell that his true colors were finally starting to show because we had rubbed him the wrong way. "He was an agent for Interpol. What about it?"

The courtroom fell silent immediately, and I smiled to myself before tilting my head gently to the side. "And just like that, you've revealed something that you shouldn't have been aware of," I announced. "Not even the members of the cast were sure of the victim's occupation prior to his becoming a director. He never spoke about his past, and yet, you were more than happy to reveal it all now. You shouldn't have had access to such critical information, and yet... You did. Why is that?"

The courtroom's gallery burst into chatter, but I didn't give them a moment of my time. Instead, I simply continued to stare at Mr. Gassman, laying on the pressure silently. He was the one who had made this mistake, so he was going to have to live with the resulting consequences. He was clearly starting to grow stressed and uncomfortable, and he didn't look up at me or anyone else. Judge Frost brought down her gavel to force the courtroom to order, but he still didn't seem to fully catch on. He was intentionally blocking us all out because he had slipped up and didn't want to admit it. Perhaps it was a matter of pride. I wasn't sure, but I didn't think it mattered too much given the circumstances either. 

"Well, witness? How did you happen to stumble upon such critical information?" Judge Frost questioned once she was sure everyone was ready to pay attention to the trial once again. Her gaze was critical, and she wasn't going to be giving Mr. Gassman the chance to slip through the cracks this time. 

He didn't immediately answer, so I took this as the perfect chance to offer input of my own on the matter. "I personally think that the witness was somehow involved with a group of people that disliked Interpol for some reason or another," I declared. "We have encountered quite a few people as of late who have had a grudge against Interpol or have otherwise been involved with a man by the name of Cade Green. He was a previous leader of Interpol, and I have to wonder if he is tied in with this current case as well."

Mr. Gassman was silent even after I offered this explanation. He slowly but surely reached for the bag on his back, and he snarled to himself as he dragged the zippers apart. I let out a gasp as I realized what he was trying to do, and I had to resist the urge to duck down as a way of keeping myself safe from whatever he was about to try. 

I had been right about there being a gun in his camera supplies bag, and he was going to try and use it to get away without needing to face accountability. 

However, when Mr. Gassman pulled out the objects inside of his bag, he wasn't ever able to use the gun. He had his hand curled around it, but the weapon had grown horribly deformed from its time at the bottom of his supply bag. It had been hiding under countless other heavy objects for quite some time, and the pressure had bent the object out of shape. There had been a small pocket of space to allow the keys to hit against the side of the gun, but that was all the breathing room it had been offered. It didn't look as if the gun had the ability to fire anymore, and he could barely get his finger around the trigger. 

Mr. Gassman's face was suddenly shadowed with panic, and he pressed down on the trigger more times than could be counted in an attempt to finally make the object work. No matter how much he tried though, he was never able to fully succeed, and his nerves only seemed to grow worse. His anxiety was almost sickening to look at not long afterwards, and I had to resist the urge to smile, knowing that he would undoubtedly get angry and potentially violent if I dared to mock him. 

There were bailiffs slowly moving towards him, but Mr. Gassman didn't seem to notice. He continued to press down on the trigger, and an explosion suddenly ricocheted outwards from the weapon in a noisy blast. Mr. Gassman was forced backwards, and he tripped over his nearby bag before being sent sprawling to the ground. A yelp left his lips as the gun was sent sliding away from him across the floor of the courtroom. It landed near the prosecution's bench, and Prosecutor Lin leaned over to pick it up as the bailiffs fully closed in around Mr. Gassman. She handled the object with a light yet falsified smile, but there was something that resembled disgust in her eyes no matter how much she tried to hide it. 

Mr. Gassman was hauled to his feet by a pair of bailiffs. He appeared to be too dazed from hitting the ground to fight back too hard, but he still managed a few weak thrashes in an attempt to pull free. There was little he could do though, and he wound up going limp in the grasp of the bailiffs before he disappeared through the doors to the courtroom. 

Another bailiff approached Prosecutor Lin, and she grinned to him before dropping the weapon into his hand. It was too distorted to be used for much aside from evidence, but she still seemed nervous about having been forced to touch it. Prosecutor Wood watched her with wide, reflective eyes that didn't seem to take in anything that was happening around her. 

Judge Frost waited for the panic in the gallery to die down before she spoke once again. She shook her head as the words formed. "That sure was an unexpected series of events," she said softly. That was one way of putting it, though it seemed like an understatement given Mr. Gassman's attempts to hold us all hostage so that he would be able to escape. He had failed due to the gun being so twisted from the pressure of his supplies. His attempts to keep it from our view had ultimately caused his undoing. He had hid it from us, and that was what caused us to wind up catching him in the end. 

"I believe that we've all come to the same conclusion regarding the culprit of the crime," Chrysalis commented. She looked notably rattled after Mr. Gassman's sudden outburst, and when I looked closely enough, I could see that her hands were trembling ever so slightly. I reached one arm out to wrap it around her shoulders. She went tense at first before relaxing into the contact, but there was still something about her that felt stilted and anxious. I didn't pull away since she remained close to me, but I was desperate to ask her what the cause of her nerves was. I already had an idea, but I thought talking would accomplish much more than simply assuming. 

"I think that it's high time that I declare my verdict for this case," Judge Frost announced. She looked down to the witness stand before casting a sideways glance over to James. The way that she flashed her focus back and forth between the two subjects of interest was telling, and I could tell that he was able to understand easily what she was trying to get him to do. 

James walked over to the stand not long afterwards, but he stood a small distant away from it to keep from interfering with the blast radius on the ground from when Mr. Gassman's gun had misfired. There was still anxiety flickering in his vision, but he did his best to put on a brave face. I couldn't blame him for being nervous given the situation, if I was being perfectly honest, but I didn't tell anyone that openly. 

"Are there any objections to the declaration of the verdict?" Judge Frost questioned, glancing over to where I was standing. Her next center of focus was the prosecution on the other side of the courtroom. 

"The defense has no objections," I assured her, smiling to myself. I still didn't look down to see what Chrysalis thought, knowing that she wasn't going to have a differing opinion. Her gaze was firmly locked on the defense bench before us, likely because she was trying to drown out the world around her after Mr. Gassman's sudden outburst. 

"The prosecution has no objections," Prosecutor Lin said next. She glanced down to Prosecutor Wood before she spoke, and both of them were left to smile in the aftermath of her words. I could tell that they were just as relieved as I was that all of this was finally being brought to a close. 

"In that case, I won't stall for any longer," Judge Frost declared with a nod. She reached for her gavel before raising it. "This court now finds the defendant, James Devine, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" She brought down the gavel a moment later, and the gallery instantly devolved into chatter once again. 

I looked down to Chrysalis, and I saw her give a weak attempt at a smile before starting to pull all of her things together from the trial. I followed suit a moment later, and I could tell that the prosecution was doing the same across the courtroom. Finally, we were free of this nightmare, and James was going to be able to enjoy his own freedom especially. I couldn't have asked for anything better given the situation, if I was being completely honest. 

Chrysalis suddenly tugged on my arm, and I nodded in her direction before starting to walk out of the courtroom. I couldn't wait to see what the rest of the world had waiting for us, if I was being perfectly honest. This was surely going to be great. 

**August 8**

**Defendant Lobby No. 4**

**12:45 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

I wish I hadn't been excited to get out of there. 

As soon as Felicity and I stepped out into the defendant lobby, we were flooded with flashes coming from various cameras. I threw up one hand on pure instinct to keep from being temporarily blinded, and I stumbled when a particularly brutal explosion of light managed to filter its way through my fingers. I should have seen this coming given how famous James had become as a result of his show, and yet, here I was, walking straight into this without a care in the world. 

"Please, do what you can to leave them be."

The cameras suddenly came to a halt when I heard James' voice, but I wasn't sure of where exactly he was since I was spending too much time trying to gather my bearings once again. He was somewhere off to my right. My suspicions as to his location were confirmed when the cameras all decided to shift away from me and Felicity to concentrate on him. I could hear James chuckle to himself beneath the static of clicking cameras, and I was left to wonder how he dealt with this on a regular basis. It had only been two minutes, and I already wanted to punch one of those camera lenses until it couldn't take any photos ever again. 

Slowly but surely, the circus began to calm down, and the reporters started to stream out of the lobby. When more space was freed in the lobby, I made my way over to the couch before flopping down dramatically. This was too much for my poor little heart. I didn't ask for any of this, and yet, here I was, putting up with it. Felicity seemed to feel the same, but she was a bit more open to the attention than I was. She grabbed my hand and rubbed at it gently to try and comfort me. It took every part of me to not pull away from her as a gut reaction to somebody touching my hand. I prayed that she didn't fiddle with my gloves, but luckily enough for me, she didn't bother, so I allowed the rubbing to continue. 

After the final reporter had left, James let out a sigh before walking over to where I was sitting with Felicity. "It's good to see that you're both alright after all of that," he told us with a gentle smile. He waved to us, but his grin soon disappeared when an unexpected squeal reached his ears. 

Yuri came dashing up behind him, and she threw her arms around his torso. "You're finally free!" she exclaimed, her voice shrill in comparison to James' low tone. "I'm so happy to see that you're okay after all of that! The trial really didn't end all that well, did it? Still, we managed to push through it, and I suppose that's what matters most right now, huh?"

James let out a laugh before turning to face Yuri properly, a fond smile on his face. "That is true... It's nice to see that you're fine as well," he said simply. He noticed that Anton was standing beside Yuri, and he gave the boy a shy wave. Anton returned the gesture, his cheeks suddenly a rosy pink. 

"I've been through a few rough cases like this, so I know how they work," Yuri shrugged with a nonchalant chuckle. "You get used to it after a while. That's probably not a good thing given what happens sometimes, but what are you going to do about it, you know? Oh, well. None of that really matters right now. The point is that you're out of the detention center! You can go on about life again!"

The door to the lobby was slowly eased open, and I saw both Sora and Niamh make their way into the space. Sora gave me a dramatic wave, and I tried not to blush at how much she was attracting attention. James, Yuri, and Anton seemed to realize that something was going on behind them, so they all turned to see what was going on. 

James dashed up to Niamh as soon as he realized that she was there, and he reached out his hands to take hers between his. "It's nice to see that you're alright as well," he commented, his tone notably flirtatious. "I was truly worried about you when everything began to take a turn for the worse, and yet, it appears that there was nothing for me to be concerned for. Thank you for doing all that you did to help me. I don't think I could ever thank you enough for your generosity and kindness."

What James did next surprised us all. He gave yet another kiss to Niamh's hand, and she was left to blush furiously under the power of his affections. He gave her a small wink soon afterwards. "You should call me sometime. I think that we would be a great match," he said, his voice shockingly genuine for how openly flirtatious he was being. I found myself stuck to the spot in pure surprise that he would ever dare to cross that line so suddenly. 

Niamh's face immediately exploded into a mess of flustered pink. She glanced up to Sora, and she received a thumbs-up gesture from her guardian a moment later. Niamh forced herself to look at the ground soon afterwards, but I could tell that she wanted nothing more than to stare up at James. A grin appeared on my face as she nodded in James' direction. He continued to smile like a kid in a candy store at her positive response. 

I don't know how he did it, but James was somehow able to pour out his affections for Niamh and then change the subject seamlessly a moment later. I was shocked when he suddenly turned his focus over to where I was standing with Felicity. "You did an incredible job in there. I truly do appreciate all that you have done for me," he told us, bowing his head with another genuine smile. 

I shrugged before looking down at the ground. "We were just doing our job," I murmured, unsure of how to handle the situation with anything that resembled grace given what had just happened. "We knew that you didn't do it, so we simply had to prove that to the rest of the world. As far as I can tell, they understand that with stunning clarity now, so you should have nothing to worry about."

"What Chrysalis means to say is that it's been a pleasure," Felicity said, throwing her arm around my shoulder after releasing my hand from her grasp. "She's just not good with feelings and stuff. We were more than happy to help you out, James, and if you ever find yourself in trouble again, all you need to do is reach out and tell us. We'd love to help you again."

I tried not to be silently offended at Felicity's implication of me not being the best with emotions, but I was able to shelve my concerns when I heard her laugh. "Besides, you did a great job too," Felicity assured James. "I'm looking forward to getting the chance to meet you in the future. I'm sure that this is going to be quite the tale to tell in the future, huh?"

James nodded in response before looking over to the entrance of the room. "As much as I would love to stay, I unfortunately should be getting going. You have my word that I'll come to your agency should anything else come up in the future though," he told us. He waved once again, a bright grin on his face. "Until we meet again!" He dashed off soon afterwards, smiling all the way. 

I waved after James before hearing a dramatic sigh off to my left. It was Yuri, and she looked somewhat dejected. "I can't believe it!" she cried out. "I spent so much time with James in the detention center, and then he decided that he wanted to go out with Niamh instead! I was hoping that he'd start to get along with me, but I guess not!" 

"I'm sorry to have gotten in your way," Niamh murmured, still clearly flustered from James' forward behavior. She played with the hair that hung out from the bottom of her braids, and she looked ready to start pulling on her hair until it nearly came loose. 

Yuri shook her head. "No, it's alright... I suppose I'll just have to find love elsewhere... Besides, I think that it's more than okay that you were able to wind up with him. That gives us the perfect chance to bond and get to know each other, and I'm in love with that sort of idea! Tell me everything that happens with him, okay?!" she exclaimed. She reached out one desperate hand to take Niamh's shoulder between her fingers, and she continued to watch Niamh intensely until the other girl nodded. When Yuri finally pulled away, she clapped her hands together excitedly. 

"It seems that everything's over then," I commented under my breath. "We should consider everything finished now. I think I'm going to head out now. I need some time to breathe after all of that messiness."

"I think we all do," Sora agreed with a light chuckle. "Now, let's go on and head our separate ways. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon, but until then, I hope that life treats you favorably!" She started to guide Niamh out of the room, shooting me a brief wave on the way to the door. I returned the gesture silently. 

Once she was gone, I let out a small sigh and looked down at the ground. This case had most certainly been an adventure, and I was more than happy to finally be able to put it in the past. i needed a break after it for sure. I hoped that there weren't any other cases that eventful for quite a while, to say the least, but then again, when did the universe ever listen to me? 

**August 8**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Time**

**Unknown Perspective**

I slid into my seat within the small office and glanced around at the other people in the space. The woman was scrolling through her phone while the man had his full attention on the nearby computer. There was a scowl on his face, but she either didn't notice or was choosing not to pay him heed. 

He stopped flicking the scrolling mechanism as soon as the computer came to show an image from a local news story. I glanced up as soon as the sound disappeared from my ears, a frown on my face. It didn't take me long to see what he had found so interesting, and I had to resist the urge to sigh in frustration. 

The picture was of two young women, both of them lawyers at Morix Law Offices. They had finished dealing with the James Devine case earlier that day, if I recalled correctly, so it was only natural that the media would eat that information right up given how greedy so many people were for an interesting story. 

"Soon, they're going to understand their mistake," the man snarled, and I had to admit that his unrestrained rage was terrifying to me in a way that I didn't know how to describe. I was silent on my concerns, but I was incredibly bothered by the morbid turn that his behavior had been taking as of late. 

Still, I supposed it mattered little when compared to the power of our plans. He knew what we had to get done, and I was fully aware of it as well. We couldn't back down after coming so far. The safety of _her_ was counting on it, and I refused to back down. 

She was going to be fine. I would make sure of it. 

**TURNABOUT LIVE**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! Case four is done! Case five is coming next week!
> 
> -Digital


	31. Turnabout Abduction, Part 1

"Hey. You. What are you doing here? I haven't seen anyone like you here before." 

_"..."_

"You know... Carrying something like that around here is a cause for trouble. Do you want to fight?" 

_"Don't get in my way."_

"Oh, now you're just asking for it!"

_"I told you not to get in my way!"_

"..." 

_"Stay here like a good little brat, would you?"_

"Okay..."

_"Good..."_

_CRASH!_

_"What are you--"_

"...You told me to stay here... So I did."

**September 12**

**Blackgate High School**

**2:20 PM**

**Yuri Rinko**

The classes for the day had drawn to a close, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. A sigh left my lips as I pulled my backpack over my shoulder and started to make my way up to the front of the building. It was time for me to swing by the agency and see if anything was going on. It had been part of my daily routine for years, and I wasn't about to let it go. 

"Hey, Yuri!"

I heard a familiar voice over my shoulder, and I turned to see Mukuro standing nearby. She waved to me, a wide grin on her face. I let out a gasp before dashing up to her. "Hey, Mukkie!" I cried out as I slid to a stop. "What are you doing here?"

Seeing Mukuro in the area was most certainly a surprise to me. She had graduated from the school the year before, so there wasn't much of a reason for her to drop by here. She was in the same class as Chrysalis, and if anyone had a reason to come by here, it would have been Chrysalis. She had recently gotten her driver's license, so she was able to drive me back to the agency when I wanted to drop by. Mukuro, on the other hand, had no such excuse, so I had no clue as to why she would be in the area. 

"I came by to drop a new classmate of yours," Mukuro explained, a smile spreading across her features. "Anton and I both came by to drop him off so that he can settle things with the front office. Alright, you can come out now!"

Anton came walking from behind a nearby corner, his face lit up with excitement as he entered my line of sight alongside another familiar figure. A gasp filled my lungs as I realized just who this newcomer was. All questions about why this was happening were gone in the blink of an eye, and all I could do was grin with pure joy and clap my hands together. 

"James!" I cried out before closing the distance between us. "You're transferring here? Why? What's going on?" As soon as I started talking, I couldn't stop, and the questions flowed naturally. I had given up on my hopes of becoming James' one and only, but I was still his friend, and him suddenly showing up at my school certainly merited a few questions. 

"Filming on my show is drawing to a close for the time being as we deal with a few logistical issues caused by past incidents," James said, and I had to admit that only he was able to make a murder and subsequent arrest sound like something normal and graceful. "Since I no longer need to focus on filming, I'm able to come back to private school. I've been receiving tutoring on set for quite some time, but I'm actually going to have the chance to spend more time with kids my age, and I figured that I would come here since I already know you and Niamh."

I had to actively keep myself from squealing in response. "That's amazing!" I cried out. I clapped my hands together once again and gestured for him to follow me. "You should totally let me take you to the front office. I'm sure that nobody would mind if I was a little late to the agency."

"We were supposed to meet Niamh and have her help to show James around, but that hasn't come to pass, I'm afraid," Mukuro said with a small shrug. She shook her head and let out a sigh. "How about this? I'll let you three go up to the office so that James can get settled, and I'll do what I can to find Niamh. After I snag her, I'll meet up with you guys."

I nodded in response. "Alright, Mukkie!" I cried out, waving as the older girl walked away. As she disappeared around a nearby corner, I turned my full attention to James and Anton once again. "James, you're going to love it here! ...Well, maybe not _love_ it, but you'll have me and Niamh here as your friends, and that's something. We can give you all of the tips and tricks to getting out of this place alive. How does that sound?"

James let out a chuckle at my enthusiasm, and he nodded in response. "Of course," he said kindly. He allowed me to take his hand in my own as I led him towards the front office. Anton, who was clinging to James' other hand, trailed behind us. I was glad that they were behind me so that they couldn't see the grin on my face. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be attending classes with James! I had dreamed about this fan fiction type of scenario for ages, and at long last, it was happening! In all honesty, I thought it bordered on being impossible, and yet, here we were. 

"So, James... How have things been going with Niamh?" I questioned once I was able to cage my excitement for a moment. I turned my head over my shoulder to get a better view of him, and I saw that a small amount of pink had risen in his cheeks. There wasn't much, but I was easily able to zero in on it. I could tell that he was embarrassed. There was nothing that he could do to escape my sharp gaze when it came to matters of the heart! None were spared from my powers of observation! 

"We've only been talking," James assured me with a shake of his head. "I've been doing my best to keep the media from assuming anything about her. After all, we wouldn't want anybody to assume that we're in a relationship when that isn't the case. It would cause issues of reputation on both sides of it."

I had to hide my smirk at his words because I knew that there was something untrue about it all. There was no way that his relationship with Niamh was that simple. I simply wasn't going to fall for that. Of course, I couldn't tell them that, so I remained happy that I was facing the front of our little train of exploration. 

"It's because of the media that I'm here after school in the first place. I don't want anyone to get too excited or nervous because I'm present during a regular school day. Our peers will simply have to get used to spending time with me, but I fear I would be a distraction if I appeared out of nowhere. There are many reporters who would give anything to see me in a place like this as well," James continued. "I would prefer to keep you two, and everyone else, for that matter, as far away from that life as possible. As much as I love performing, the obsession the media has with me most certainly tests my patience on the worst of days."

I nodded my understanding. "I get it. Well, maybe not to the same degree, but there have been more than a few people who have showed up to the agency before. Most of them are curious about the cases that we've been involved with in the past, and I don't know how to tell them that they aren't going to learn anything by sticking around there," I told him. My heart skipped a beat at the idea that I had something in common with James Devine of all people. I was used to being considered his friend, but it still caught me by surprise when I wasn't careful enough. My life really had turned into something that you would find in a book or movie in the past month or so! 

At long last, we arrived at our destination of the front office, and I gestured to the door after releasing James' hand. "After you speak with the principal, I would be more than happy to show you around the building. It's a bit hard to get the feel of at first, but I'm sure that you'll be alright after a while. Don't worry about it," I told him with a nonchalant shrug. 

"M-Mukuro sure is t-taking a while to f-find her..." Anton whispered, and I frowned in response. He was right. Mukuro had left to try and find Niamh a few minutes ago, and yet, she wasn't back yet. The school was large, but I would have expected Mukuro to take care of everything quickly.

Just to make sure that she hadn't sent me a text message, I reached into my pocket and dug out my phone. I checked every possible social media platform we were on together as well as the regular texting app, and yet, she hadn't sent anything. I shrugged it off, figuring that it was nothing. "I'm sure that it's nothing. Maybe she just wound up getting caught up in some other business. She did graduate last year, so there are probably some teachers who would want to say hello to her when given the chance," I pointed out. 

And then came the scream. 

If I thought that this situation was normal at first, that sudden screech was enough to dispel all of my attempts to cover for what had happened. James wasn't even inside of the office yet when I took off running, and Anton trailed after me. James hesitated before taking up the rear, and we were hurling ourselves through the hallways in an attempt to find the source of the sound. 

I think that part of me knew that it was Mukuro who had cried out before we even arrived. It just sounded like her, and I was positive that she had to be involved somehow. I didn't want it to be true, but there was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that said that my worst fears were about to be confirmed. 

As if on cue, we rounded the corner into the trophy area of the school. It was an isolated corner of the building where the awards were kept in a glass case. Not many people saw a reason to come through the area, so it was left abandoned a strong majority of the time. I hadn't been to the trophy area in quite some time, so I was beyond surprised to see the state that it was in. 

The glass had been shattered, and there were shards of the transparent material all over the floor. The top shelf of the trophy case had been splintered in half, and all of the trophies below were left to scatter as a result. Nothing was left intact aside from the awards at the very corners of the bottom row of the case. 

However, the most surprising part had to be what was in front of the case. My hand flew to my lips, and I did my best to stifle a cry of my own. Mukuro was standing over a person's limp body. It was an older man, far taller than any of us were. There was a bloodied trophy right next to his head, and there was a large stain of crimson that spiraled outwards from his temple. He was wearing all black, but some of the fabric had been shredded by the falling glass, leaving his body covered in cuts. 

I took a small step forward to see if he was still breathing, but I quickly realized that his chest wasn't rising or falling. He looked unnaturally pale as well, and I didn't have to check to know that there was no heartbeat. He was dead, and I didn't know what could have happened. 

It felt as if there was something constricting around my lungs, keeping me from screaming out in a panic the way that I wanted to. I couldn't stop looking at the blood that was quickly seeping into the carpet, and I wondered just how long ago this man had been killed. I took a hesitant step forward before pressing one hand against his hand. It was cold, and I knew that it had been a while since his death. 

Still, that did little to keep me from panicking. Mukuro fumbled for her phone, and I knew that she was calling for help. I looked over to James and Anton, and I saw that they were both just as pale as I was. Anton looked like he was going to be sick, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders before guiding him away from the area. I found a trashcan and allowed him to sit next to it. I turned away before I could watch him hurl. 

My ears felt as if they had been filled with static, and the image of blood around the collapsed man resurfaced in my head once again. I didn't know what had happened, but I absolutely hated this. Why did this have to happen? I didn't understand. This made no sense. 

And where the hell was Niamh? 

**September 12**

**Bespoke-Lin Residence**

**2:45 PM**

**Chrysalis Starr**

It took me a while to force my eyes open, but when I did, I let out a small groan. Everything seemed foggy and distant, and I remembered just why I wasn't a morning person. There was something soft beneath me, and I had to actively keep myself from sliding back into its welcoming sensation. 

Still, I managed to force myself into a position that was somewhat vertical, and I realized just how fuzzy the world around me was. I shut my eyes to keep myself from getting a headache as I fumbled around for my glasses. As soon as my hand collided with metal, I grabbed the glasses and pushed them on my face only to cringe and recoil as soon as I opened my eyes. Those were _not_ my glasses. The prescription was all wrong, and it was somehow even worse to look through those than just to stare at the world on its own. 

"Here."

I saw a blurry figure in front of me, and I realized that they were holding out one hand. I grabbed at their fingers until I realized that the familiar thin frames of my glasses were resting on their palm. I pressed the lenses onto my face, and I fluttered my eyes open once again with curiosity festering in the back of my mind. I didn't know who the person in question was, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I was going to be finding out soon. 

"N-Niamh!" I yelped out in surprise. I rubbed at my eyes just to make sure that I was seeing properly, and I glanced around the area. We were most certainly at the home that Niamh shared with my sister and Ghastly, so it only made sense that she would be here. 

As soon as I realized where we were though, it came to me that I had no idea how in the world we got back to the house. I glanced up to Niamh in hopes that she would be able to provide me with answers, but I found that I couldn't make myself ask the question on my mind. My mouth suddenly felt numb, and all I could do was stare. 

"I've already told your brother that you'll be staying the night here," Niamh told me, shrugging her shoulders in a jerky motion. I realized that she wasn't wearing her glasses, and I figured that I had accidentally picked up hers when I was trying to find mine. She put a hand to my shoulder, and I was surprised at the contact. Despite this, I couldn't bring myself to pull away, too tired to bother protesting. 

"You should get some more sleep. You must have been exhausted," Niamh continued, gently pushing me back into my previous horizontal position on the couch. I stared at her in response, but I didn't move to displace her hand. In fact, I wound up reaching up and taking off my glasses a moment later, and I let them slide off my palm onto the nearby table. My eyes shut once again, and I allowed the comfort of the furniture to take me over once again. I was asleep soon afterwards, and I had no intentions of getting up again anytime soon. 

**September 12**

**Blackgate High School**

**3:40 PM**

**James Devine**

To put it nicely, the hour that followed was exhausting. 

There were too many officers in the area to be counted, and I could feel anxiety starting to creep in. Where was Niamh? Why hadn't Mukuro been able to find her? What had happened in the first place? Why was somebody dead? Who could have done this? 

I was sitting with Yuri, Anton, and Mukuro in the front office area of the school, thinking about how this was an awful way to be introduced to the place that I would be attending classes soon. It was tiring to think about everything that was happening, but I couldn't get my mind off it. Whenever I closed my eyes, I thought about how pale that man had been. I couldn't stop thinking about the way that the blood pooled around his head. Anton looked like he was going to be sick again. He had barely been able to stand earlier, and he certainly hadn't gotten any better since then. 

Footsteps suddenly cut off my thought process, and I glanced up to see that a woman was walking inside the room. She had brown hair, a kind smile, and a gigantic black hat. There was something apologetic about her, and she seemed nervous. I couldn't blame her in the slightest given what had just happened. 

"Detective Umber!" Mukuro suddenly cried out in shock, looking ready to jump to her feet but not quite taking the action. She glanced over to Yuri and Anton, and both of them appeared to be just as surprised as she was. They did their best to hide it though, and they turned their focus to the woman at hand, this 'Detective Umber' character, a moment later. 

"We've got a suspect in mind," Detective Umber suddenly declared, and I let out a small gasp before I knew what I was doing. That had certainly been fast. Then again, it hadn't taken them long to arrest me when I was originally suspected in the death of Mr. Rector not long beforehand. Just the thought made me upset though, so I did my best to shelve past problems with murder to focus on what was happening in front of me. 

"Who is it?" Yuri questioned, tilting her head to the side. I saw that she was holding onto Anton's hand, and their fingers were locked so tightly that I almost thought she was going to hurt him by accident. I cringed in response, but I bit down on my lip to keep from saying anything. 

Detective Umber turned her attention towards Mukuro, and that apologetic look came back with renewed vengeance. "Sorry," she muttered. "I-I don't want to do this, but... The police have already made their choice on a suspect, and it's you. I'm sorry about it, but it's not like I have any other choice."

"Are you serious?!" Yuri yelped, jumping to her feet with fury burning in her eyes. "Mukuro found the body, but that doesn't mean that she's an immediate suspect! Please, think with your head about this! I don't care what the police officers have to say! They screw this stuff up all the time! You're the detective here, so start ordering them around already!"

"If I could do that, I would," Detective Umber sighed. "But I can't make that decision, I'm afraid. Please, Mukuro... If you would come with me, we have lots of things to talk about." 

Mukuro hesitated at first before she forced herself to stand slowly. She glanced over to Yuri and Anton before giving one final look of longing in my direction. I felt my heart twist in response, and I wished that there was something I could do to help her. 

I was cut off from my thoughts when Mukuro walked towards Detective Umber a moment later. Anton, Yuri, and I were left in stunned silence as the duo vanished around the corner. I resisted the urge to pound my fist into the armrest of the chair I was sitting in. I knew that it wasn't going to help, but I still wanted to get my anguish out somehow. My fingers pulled in to form a tight fist. 

"I'll call the agency," Yuri announced firmly. "If they're going to say that Mukuro did it, then that's their mistake. I'll just have to make sure that she's alright." She reached for her phone before pulling it free of her pocket. She pressed against the screen quickly before pushing the device against her ear. She walked a few feet away before she started speaking into the receiver. 

I looked over to Anton, and I held out my hand so that he could cling to me in Yuri's absence. He took me up on the offer without hesitation, and he moved over to sit in the chair next to mine where Mukuro had been a moment before. He leaned his head against my shoulder, and I looked down at him fondly, wishing there was more I could do to help both him and Mukuro out of this situation. 

Then there was the matter of Niamh. Where in the world was she? I could have sworn that she was supposed to meet us here, and yet, it ended like this. I was praying that there was a logical explanation for this, but there was a voice in the back of my head whispering that something was wrong. I had no basis for it, but I couldn't help feeling nervous as an instinctive reaction. It was undoubtedly a byproduct of what horrors we had witnessed not long beforehand. 

I decided to pull my phone from my pocket, and I began to press down on the screen until I had made my way to the texting app at my disposal. I sent Niamh a quick question asking where she was, not wanting to overwhelm her with the details until I was able to actually talk to her. I didn't mind if it was over the phone or in person, but I was positive that telling her there had been a murder over text was not the way to go about all of this. 

My thoughts of concern for Niamh were cut off when Yuri made her way back towards me. She was dropping her phone back into its regular spot, and a sigh was pushing its way free of her lips. "Lily, Victoria, and Sky are on their way. Mr. Morix is going ballistic because he doesn't know where Chrysalis is either," she explained. "I don't get it. Chrysalis was supposed to pick me up, but she isn't here. What could have happened to her?"

"Maybe you should send her a text for her to respond to when she gets the chance," I offered, remembering what I had done with Niamh a moment before. It wasn't going to offer an immediate solution, but being able to do anything at all was sure to help to calm Yuri's rattling nerves. 

Yuri let out a sigh and shook her head. "I don't know how much good that's going to do us. I tried calling her a few times after I reached out to the agency, but she didn't pick up. I know that she's not in the school. If she was, we would have already heard that she had been found somewhere... But we can also say that nothing too bad could have happened to her. If she was hurt, Mr. Morix would have already been called to say that something was wrong," she pointed out, but I got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself more than me or Anton. 

My phone suddenly buzzed from its place in my pocket, and I pulled it out immediately. A sigh of relief left my mouth as soon as I realized who had messaged me, and my eyes slipped shut as I typed in my password through muscle memory. I looked down at the text I had received from Niamh and read it in full. 

_I'm back at my house. What's going on?_

I couldn't hold back the tidal wave of relief that hit me luck a truck as soon as I saw that she was alright. I typed out a response, saying that I would explain it later. I glanced over to Yuri and saw how concerned she still was, so I decided to tack a little something else to the tail end of my next message to Niamh. 

_I'm at the school. Something happened, but I'll tell you about it later. Do you know where Chrysalis is?_

"Niamh is okay," I said to distract myself from waiting for her next text. Yuri and Anton both looked at me in such overwhelming relief that it almost hurt to see. I glanced back down to the phone's screen and saw that the girl in question was typing out a response already. I tapped my phone's side impatiently, knowing that it would do nothing to hurry response but needing to do something to pass the seconds. 

_She's with me. She's asleep right now._

I had a thousand questions, such as how Chrysalis got there from the school if she really was meant to be picking up Yuri, but I forced myself to lay them all to rest. I gave Niamh a quick thanks before saying that I had to go, knowing that I wouldn't be able to explain everything no matter how much she asked. I barely knew what was going on, if I was being perfectly honest. 

"As far as I can tell, something happened to the trophy case to break the glass, and from there, one of the trophies fell out and hit him on the head," Yuri suddenly declared, and I looked up from my phone out of gratitude for the distraction. "I don't know who or what it could have been, but... I get the feeling that we're going to find that out sooner or later, huh?"

"I didn't see anything that could have caused everything to break," I admitted softly. "I feel like something of that nature would have stuck out among all of the glass and broken trophies... It's not like one of the trophies could have done that much damage to the case. I feel like it would take more force than a trophy could offer to shatter all of the glass at once like that."

"I'll bring that up with the others when they get here," Yuri suggested. She hesitated a moment later before shaking her head. "Actually, I think I'll leave that to them to figure out. After all, we're probably going to wind up being interrogated about what we saw. The investigators are going to want more information, and we're the only ones who can offer them that."

"We'll have to deal with the subject of Niamh and Chrysalis going missing later," I muttered with a shake of my head. "At the very least, they're both okay. Niamh told me that Chrysalis is with her, though I don't know how she could have gotten there. If she was really supposed to pick you up, why would she go back to Niamh's house?"

Yuri shrugged, the motion jerky and detached. "I suppose that's got to count for something... I'll tell Mr. Morix that she's okay. That'll be a serious weight off his shoulders, though that's probably an understatement with how protective he can get," she told us, reaching for her phone once again. She was tapping away at the screen a moment later. 

I glanced over to Anton, my gaze sympathetic. "Don't worry," I assured him gently. "Everything is going to be okay. I can promise you that much." I squeezed my fingers around his, and Anton nodded slowly. His cheeks were pink, but I could tell that he still wasn't in the mood for conversation. Even if he was lightly flustered, his face was still incredibly pale because of all that had happened. 

The area fell eerily silent afterwards, and I allowed the quiet to swallow me. This was already showing itself to be a disaster, and I absolutely hated it. I had just wanted to become acquainted with my new school, but it had to end terribly due to the whims of fate. I didn't know who the victim was, but I already felt sympathy towards his plight. This was an awful series of events, and I was determined to learn the truth behind them. 

Sure enough, there were investigators that showed up soon afterwards to drag us off for interrogation. The leader of the group was a detective who introduced himself as Aidan Hayes. He gestured for us to follow him, and I did so without a moment of hesitation. I hated the idea of talking about what we had seen, but it wasn't as if there was anything else that we could do. If we wanted to find the truth, we were going to have to play along. 

I hoped that we would find the truth, anyways. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Tuesday update! Yeet!
> 
> -Digital


	32. Turnabout Abduction, Part 2

**September 12**

**Blackgate High School**

**4:15 PM**

**Sky Amaya**

I walked into the school building slowly, trailing after both Lily and Victoria. I couldn't help my nerves, and I already had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next. I barely understood what was going on, but I knew that it couldn't have been good if Yuri sounded so panicked. 

Up until she called us, we had all been lounging around the agency and enjoying ourselves while going about our daily business. Mr. Morix had been quietly paranoid because Chrysalis wasn't answering any of his messages, but I didn't know how to calm him down. Chrysalis had left a while beforehand to pick up Yuri from school, but since neither one of them made it back to the agency, he was freaking out. 

Yuri's call had helped all of the pieces to slip into place. Something had happened at the school, and they weren't sure fully what could have taken place. I hadn't been the one to answer her call (that was Victoria), but I could still hear her noisy panic from my place on the other side of the room. In the car on the way to the crime scene, I heard from Lily that Chrysalis was alright, so Mr. Morix was calmed down as well. That was a good thing, of course, but I couldn't help my overwhelming concern about what in the world could have been going on to cause such an uproar in the first place. 

When we arrived at the school, I glanced around with a frown. There were too many police officers to count, but I was almost alright with that. After all, the school itself was rather large, so chances were slim that we would wind up running into too many issues with being overly crowded. I took that as a good sign because I didn't have anything else to hold to. 

The crowd around the school was difficult to move through, to say the least. I didn't know how we were going to even begin to come close to finding the body if we couldn't get into the building, so I looked to Lily and Victoria for reassurance. Neither one of them seemed to have an answer for me unfortunately, so we remained where we were until a new person stumbled free of the chaos. 

"Hey! Detective Hayes!" Lily exclaimed, waving one hand above her head to catch his attention. The young man in question let out a gasp before walking closer to us. He looked incredibly pale, but he was still doing his best to keep his composure despite how much was happening. 

"You're here!" Detective Hayes yelped, his eyes going wide with surprise before they softened into something more natural. "Mukuro was arrested for the murder! Yuri told me that you were coming, but I was still nervous about it all... She, James, and Anton are being interrogated right now, so I'm afraid that you won't be able to talk to them for a while."

All of this information was more than too much for me to handle, and I felt like I was going to fall over under the weight of how overwhelming this was already. I glanced over to Lily and Victoria once again with hopes that they would know what to do from here. Victoria seemed anxious as well, but Lily wasn't allowing the situation to get the better of her. She gestured for us to follow her into the building, and I knew that she was trying to find us a quieter place to talk. I was silently thankful for her efforts, knowing that I was going to wind up with a terrible headache if we stayed outside surrounded by so many people for much longer than we already had. 

Lily and Detective Hayes took us into a classroom near the front of the building. I could still hear distant chattering outside, but I figured that it was better than where we had been. There were posters scattered about the room with motivational phrases painted on them, and I could tell based on the large number of textbooks slammed on most of the desks that this was a history classroom. 

"Let me tell you what we know so far," Detective Hayes began. "But I will admit that it isn't much in the long run... We don't even know the victim's name yet."

"You haven't found that out?" Lily asked, her eyes going wide with surprise. "I suppose that the crime was incredibly recent, but... You would expect the victim to have something to do with the school given where he was killed."

Detective Hayes shook his head. "No... He's never associated with the school at all. We don't know who he is or where he could have come from, but he's here, and I guess that's what matters given that we're going to have to put up with that throughout the rest of the case," he replied with a shrug. 

"Start from the beginning," Victoria instructed. "We haven't heard anything aside from the fact that there's been a murder. Yuri wasn't able to tell us much more than that before she was forced to go and take care of other business."

"The victim was found in the trophy hall area of the school," Detective Hayes explained. "The glass was shattered, and the shelves were broken as a result. There was a trophy found right next to his body, and he appears to have died to a blow to the head. I can show you the crime scene in a bit, but I have to warn you right off the bat that it isn't a pretty sight... The broken glass makes it kind of precarious to navigate."

"I can only imagine," Victoria commented with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Still, there has to be a reason that Mukuro of all people was suspected. She's so nice, and I know that she wouldn't even think about hurting a fly, much less an actual human being."

"Mukuro found the body," Detective Hayes answered. "You see, she was trying to find someone who was supposed to be here. Unfortunately, she never found the person that she was looking for, and she stumbled upon the body instead. The police found that to be suspicious because of the given corner where the victim was killed."

"The trophy hall must have been away from the main chunk of rooms, so they probably found it odd that she was there at all," I assumed, looking down at the floor. I admired the patterns of dark red, blue, and green that made up to woven carpet below, figuring that it was easier to look at the floor rather than think about what had happened to the victim.

Detective Hayes nodded his confirmation. "Yeah, that's right... We don't know who the victim is though. For some reason, he isn't associated with the school in the slightest. It's confusing," he went on. "If he was somehow involved with the school, we would have already heard about the connection. He isn't a teacher here, and he wasn't wearing any forms of identification. Since the death was so recent, we don't even know if we can check records of missing people."

"That's so strange," Lily remarked with a shake of her head. "I mean, why would he be here if he wasn't associated with the school at all? I somehow doubt that he was a parent of a student. That counts as being involved with the school, doesn't it?"

"It would count, but... We don't have anything that could tie him back to the school. It's so strange," Detective Hayes asserted once again. "I'm sure that we're going to learn who he is soon enough, but until then, all we can do is wait for the evidence to come in."

"Something about this case seems fishy to me," I murmured. I didn't have any evidence about the case being strange, but I still felt as if there was something wrong just beneath the surface. There were undoubtedly a few details that we didn't understand quite yet, but it left me with a bad feeling. There had to be an explanation for everything, but how did it all come together?

"Come on," Detective Hayes suddenly said, gesturing for us to follow him. "I can take you by the crime scene. After all, I know that you're going to need to be familiar with it all if you're going to find the real culprit."

The walk to the trophy area was quiet. Much to my surprise, there weren't many people in the area at all, so that gave us the power to look over the space without any risks of being interrupted. I was glad to be in a silent space once again, and I let out a sigh of relief when I realized just how quiet our investigation was going to be. I knew that it would be far from eventful, but I couldn't have minded in the slightest, to be perfectly honest. 

As soon as we arrived, I was able to take in the victim in his full glory, and I already hated the scene of the crime. I looked down at the body and forced myself to not be sick. The victim was crumpled on the ground with a pool of blood around his head. It was upsetting and concerning to see, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do to change it. 

The body was surrounded by broken glass, and the trophy that had killed the victim was resting nearby. I could see something dark hidden among the glass as well, but most of it was masked by the victim's body. There was more blood around that space of the corpse, though I couldn't identify why in the world would be the case. 

The victim himself was wearing all dark clothing, and his hair was a deep brown color. It was strange to me that he was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants in a school, and I was sure that he couldn't have been a teacher. Such attire was far too casual for a teaching professional as far as I was concerned. Something about his whole appearance struck me as odd, though I couldn't even begin to say what was so strange. There was just this lingering sensation in the back of my mind that said there was something off about the whole situation. 

"The victim hasn't been moved since the body was discovered," Detective Hayes told us. "We suspect that he was killed instantly after he was hit by the trophy. This one in particular is the heaviest one in the collection, and it's placed on the top shelf most of the time. When the glass was shattered, the shelves all collapsed inwards as well, and that caused the trophy to fall down from its regular position. We aren't sure about it the culprit used the trophy to hit the victim from there or if the trophy simply caused the damage when it fell, but..."

"Regardless, there must have been somebody responsible for the crime," Victoria concluded. "Even if the trophy simply fell, somebody must have broken the glass. Something like that wouldn't just shatter out of nowhere. I can tell by how thick it is that the glass was incredibly strong, so it would have taken a very heavy object to come anywhere close to dealing this much damage."

Detective Hayes nodded his agreement. "If we aren't looking for the person who hit the victim with the trophy, we're looking for the one who found a way to shatter the glass. Either way, we need to figure out how the victim died," he told us. "We aren't sure about when the victim exactly died, but we suspect that it was likely at some point after the school day ended."

Lily placed one hand on her chin, a frown on her face. "I know the schedule of the school pretty well thanks to Yuri... Classes start close to seven in the morning, and they end at about 1:30 in the afternoon. Most extracurricular activities run for about forty-five minutes after the school day ends, and then the students are given the chance to go home," she declared. 

"Yuri was staying after school today, so she was busy in the period of time where the victim could have died," Victoria commented next. "Hm... I guess that it would only make sense if the victim was killed after the school day ended. There would have been too many people around at first, but if the victim died after everyone streamed out, then there wouldn't be the risk of accidentally being caught in the process."

"So we should be looking for someone who could have killed the victim between 1:30 and 2:15," I concluded. "Is there anything else that we should be aware of, Detective Hayes?"

"Up until the body's discovery, Mukuro was with Yuri, Anton, and James in the front office. James Devine was transferring to the school, and he was supposed to meet with administration today about moving into the building after being tutored on the set of his television show for a few years," Detective Hayes went on. "None of them heard the glass shattering from the nearby trophy case, so the victim must have died in the forty-five minute period of time that you mentioned a moment ago."

Victoria looked down to the floor soon afterwards, and she crouched down to examine the body more closely, taking care to not cut herself on the broken glass by accident. "There's something hiding under his torso," she commented, gesturing to the place where there was another pool of blood away from his head. "It's something black..."

Detective Hayes decided to lean over, and he pulled the object in question free with a strangled gasp. I could see what had made him so nervous a moment later, and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out in surprise. It was a knife, specifically a switchblade. The weapon was small, but it was still dangerously sharp, and I could easily see how something so tiny had caused so much bloodshed. 

"Do you think the knife was involved with specifically killing the victim?" Lily questioned. "If it wasn't involved with taking his life, it must have been used to inflict that injury either before or after his death."

"I think it was after," Victoria commented. "Look at where the blood is. It's only in the one spot, and if he had been stabbed before he was killed, there would have been stains everywhere. Instead, you can only find blood around his head and stomach."

"I agree that the head wound was likely what killed him," Detective Hayes said. "Though I don't know how the knife could factor into all of this... I think that there's something else off about the way that he's stretched out though. It can't be just me. It seems like he's laying on something else, and I don't think it has anything to do with the knife."

Detective Hayes crouched down to see what could have been responsible for the odd way that the victim was laying down on the ground. I frowned to myself and swallowed nervously. "Be careful of the broken glass," I advised him, not wanting to see him hurt by the debris that covered the area. 

Lily frowned at my words, and she placed one hand on her chin in contemplation. "You know... There are a few pieces of glass on the floor on this side, but for the most part, the glass is inside of the trophy case," she remarked. "That means that the killer probably threw something at the glass from the outside, causing it to burst primarily towards the trophies. I mean, I feel like that's obvious, but... It's proof that this was definitely deliberate. If the glass simply shattered on its own, there would be equal amounts of glass on either side."

Victoria nodded her agreement. "Yeah, that makes sense... How strange to think about though. I mean, if you look here at the crime scene, there's nothing that would have been heavy enough to cause such widespread destruction. The object used to shatter the glass must have been huge. I mean, there's nothing left of the central pane of glass. It was completely destroyed so easily," she remarked. 

"The only objects here that would really be considered heavy are the trophies, but those were on the inside of the case. Even if they were used to break through the glass, it's not like they would have been able to move around on their own. If the killer had access to the keys needed to open up the case, there would have been no point to the culprit using something heavy to smash their way inside," Lily continued. "So, our culprit is someone who couldn't use the keys to get into the display case. They felt as if there was no option for them aside from smashing their way in using brute force."

"We still don't know why anyone would want to get in there so badly," I pointed out. "There has to be a reason for why the culprit was so desperate to break into the trophy case. I somehow doubt that this is something as petty as simply wanting to take possession of the trophies inside. There are better ways to get in than smashing it. Besides, I doubt that they would have let go of the object used to break the case if they were really trying to get at the trophies."

"You're right," Victoria confirmed with a nod. "If they wanted the trophies, they would have been careful not to shatter the shelves that the trophies were standing on. Since the shelves were broken, chances are that the killer threw an object at the case rather than simply using it as a battering ram. That makes a lot more sense, wouldn't you agree?"

"The culprit was trying to open the case for a reason aside from the trophies," Lily concluded. "And to get inside, they threw something heavy at the case. They didn't use it up close, in other words. That means that the culprit was likely safe from scratches caused by the glass that was sent flying everywhere, so we can't use that as a clue to figure out who the killer is... The culprit lashed out for an unknown reason, and I think that finding the truth behind why they were so desperate to get into the trophy case will be at the center of this case. If we want to figure out who the killer is, we're going to have to find the reason for their need to break into the trophy case."

"Is there anything else inside of the trophy case that could have possibly been thought of as useful?" I questioned. "I mean, if there was another object in the trophy case that the killer wanted to get to, then I suppose it would make sense... But that doesn't exactly explain why the victim was right there."

"As of now, I think that we can assume that the victim was right there when the glass was broken. If not, the victim arrived soon afterwards," Victoria said. She looked down towards where the victim was laying on the ground among glass shards and blood splatter. "I don't understand what the reason could have been for all of this though... Something about this case is bothering me, but I don't know what could be so wrong."

"This murder is most certainly unorthodox," I murmured, unsure of how else I was meant to describe the events that had transpired. I shook my head to try and banish the thoughts of how nervous I was about this. I wasn't sure who the culprit was or why they had lashed out, but I had the sneaking suspicion that there was far more to this case than originally met the eye. I didn't have any evidence of such, but there wasn't exactly any other way for me to come to conclusions at the moment. After all, we didn't even know the name of the victim. How could we find out more when such a basic fact still eluded our grasp?

Detective Hayes suddenly let out a gasp, and I saw him pull away from the body. He seemed to have identified the source of such strangeness involving the victim, and he didn't appear to enjoy it in the slightest. In fact, his eyes were wide and reflective, barely taking in what was happening around him. It was concerning, and I could barely keep from clamping down on my lip with my teeth out of pure nerves. 

I realized what had him so upset a moment later as I set my eyes upon the object that he had uncovered. It was a gun. The weapon was on the smaller side, clearly meant to be hidden, but I didn't know why it would be at a school of all places. It didn't make sense in the slightest. Guns weren't allowed on school property as far as I was aware. In fact, we had passed a sign on the way in to say that no weapons were permitted inside of the building. If that was the case, why was there a gun here?

"This shouldn't be here," Detective Hayes said firmly, almost as if he was reading my thoughts about the gun. "There's no way that the gun is supposed to be here... But why is it here?"

"The gun is small enough to be easily hidden... I can't help but wonder if the culprit knew that and deliberately tried to hide its presence," Victoria commented, a heavy frown appearing on her features. "I suppose that I don't have any evidence for such, but..."

Detective Hayes shook his head as he glanced down at the gun. "No... I think that you're right," he commented softly. "When I was trying to pull it out, I could tell that it was stuck in something. I think that it was inside of a container made deliberately to hide it from view. The victim was trying to keep it from being spotted by most people... But why would he need a gun on a school campus? If he was killed after hours, then that only makes this more suspicious... Just who is this man?"

"He shouldn't be here," Lily said firmly. "There's no way that a man with a gun is supposed to be at a school out of the blue like this. If he was an officer of some sort, we would have already been made aware of such. We would have found a source of identification or noticed that he was wearing a uniform, and yet, we haven't seen either one of those things."

"There aren't any signs of identification on him at all," Detective Hayes told Lily with a frown. "It's like he was trying deliberately to keep his identity from being discovered, but... I don't understand what the reasoning behind that could be. Why was he at this school out of all places? Is there something that makes this place special?"

"There's got to be a reason behind him being here of all places, but we're going to have to be patient if we want to find the truth behind that reasoning," I concluded. "Until then, I suppose that all we can do is wait and look at other areas of the building... There has to be a clue about what's going on somewhere around here, and we're going to have to find them."

"I will tell you now that the case isn't going to court tomorrow," Detective Hayes cut in. "Tomorrow is going to be another investigation. The police don't think that they have enough time to come to solid conclusions about the case if the trial is tomorrow, so... You're going to have another chance to come in here and look around. Maybe we'll know who the victim is by then too, but there are no promises."

"The victim's identity has got to be the most important fact for us to find out at the moment," Victoria declared. "I feel like everything will start to fall into place after we determine who the victim really is, but until then, we'll have to see if there's anything else we can use."

"I think that it's mostly perplexing because there's no reason logically for his identity to be this much of a secret," Lily sighed. "I mean, in most cases, the victim has a reason to be there, but that's not the case here. The lack of easy identification is only complicating things, and I can't help but wonder why he would want to keep his identity a secret. If he really did leave anything that could identify him behind..."

"I think I know what you're saying," I murmured. "If he came here with the intentions of hiding his identity, then that means that he was planning on doing something unfavorable from the very beginning. Why else would he want to hide who he really is? It wouldn't make any sense."

"But what would he want to do?" Victoria questioned. "I don't think that it makes any sense... Facts in general regarding this case are pretty limited, but this sure isn't helping. I mean, we can tell that there was something to shatter the glass, but that doesn't exactly help us to reveal who the victim is..."

"We're going to do our best to discover who he is through other methods," Detective Hayes assured us. "We'll use photos if we have to. Dental and medical records could help us to find out who he is too... I can promise you that we're going to try and learn who the victim is, and as soon as we're aware of such, I'll tell you everything."

"Thank you for the offer, Detective Hayes," I told him with a light smile. "I appreciate it... Maybe we could go and see if we can speak with anyone else who was involved with the case. I'm sure that there are witnesses around here somewhere. I'd love to speak with Yuri about what she knows before we call it here for the day."

Detective Hayes hesitated before looking to the ground once again. "I don't think it's going to be that simple... I bet that she's still being interrogated, and the same probably applies to the other witnesses. Mukuro is undoubtedly talking to the police right now too, though she's at the detention center rather than here at the scene of the crime," he explained. "I don't know what's going on here though... There are so many facts about this case that simply don't add up, and I haven't even been given the chance to look through the rest of the building. What if other mysteries pop up while we're trying to find more evidence about the murder itself?"

"I'm sure that you're going to be able to figure it all out soon enough," Lily assured him. "You know what you're doing, and I know that you'll be able to help us free Mukuro soon enough. We aren't going to let her suffer in the detention center for much longer than she has to. That much I can promise."

Detective Hayes sighed before nodding, but it was still clear as day that he was dejected. "I don't know what to do... Her father is busy on another case, and I don't even know what I'm going to tell him when he hears about everything that's happened here today," he murmured before shaking his head. "But that's not important right now. We have to try and find the truth about what happened."

"I don't think we're going to be able to get much more done here today," Victoria said, glancing over to Lily before her gaze settled on me. "I mean, we can't talk to any witnesses because of the nature of this case, and there's nothing we can do to learn more about the victim or what happened at the scene of the crime either. All we can really do is pull back for now and wait until tomorrow comes. We have more time to investigate the crime tomorrow, so I think that we should take advantage of it."

"We really don't know much right now, huh?" Lily asked before letting out a humorless laugh. "I'm beyond glad that the trial isn't being held tomorrow. I know that we would be toast if that was the case... Hey, now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone from the Prosecutor's Office here today. I guess that they haven't been able to assign anybody yet to look into this case."

I nodded my agreement. "That would make sense... Here's to hoping that the prosecutor will be able to help us out tomorrow," I muttered under my breath. "Still, there's nothing else we can do here today, so let's go back to the agency and try to get ready for tomorrow. We're going to have quite a bit to look for tomorrow."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Detective Hayes told us, waving one hand as we started to walk away from the crime scene. I could see him looking down to the gun out of the corner of my eye, and I got the sneaking suspicion that he was going to be trying to learn as much as possible about the weapon before returning to the school again the following day. 

"This sure is a mess," Lily commented as we walked out of the school. That was an understatement, to say the least, but I didn't say that. After all, both Lily and Victoria were already aware of such, and I wasn't going to push her on it. There was nothing we could do about the crime until the following day, so all we could do was wait. 

I sure did hate waiting though. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My head hurts but it's okay here's the update
> 
> -Digital


	33. Turnabout Abduction, Part 3

**September 13**

**Blackgate High School**

**10:00 AM**

**Victoria von Graye**

When the next morning came, I woke up early and decided to make my way over to the school. I had agreed with Sky and Lily the day before that we would meet at the scene of the crime so that we would be able to investigate more. After all, we had quite a bit to get done when it came to talking to witnesses. I was hoping that we would be able to start off the investigation by hearing more about the victim. We were still in the dark about who he truly was, and I was looking forward to potentially getting a name.

As I walked into the building, I frowned to myself and took in a small breath. I looked over to the right of the entrance and saw that Sky and Lily were already inside. They were standing alone, but someone was approaching them. I recognized the person in question as Detective Umber, and I gave her a brief wave before fully joining up with other two. 

"Hey, Victoria!" Lily chirped before flashing a grin in my direction. Sky simply nodded to me, and I responded with a wave before glancing over to Detective Umber. 

Sure enough, she walked up to us soon afterwards, and she had a gentle smile on her face. "It's nice to see you," Detective Umber greeted, but I got the sneaking suspicion that there was something more pulling at her gaze than usual. In fact, when I looked closely, I could see that she seemed guilty about something. I didn't know what it could have been, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I'd hear the truth about it one of these days. 

"Are you on this case alongside Detective Hayes?" I questioned, using his title rather than just his first name for the sake of maintaining formality. 

Detective Umber nodded. "Yeah. We're still looking around the building, but the investigation has made a little bit more progress," she said. "Detective Hayes is over at the detention center for the time being, and he's talking to the defendant. As for the investigation taking place here... We still don't have a name for the victim, but I can say that we've figured out one other thing about the crime scene."

"What is it?" Sky inquired, tilting his head to the side. I could tell that he was nervous about what she was going to say, but I couldn't exactly blame him. This could have been a key fact to the case, and I was rather anxious to hear it as well. 

"We found another source of blood at the crime scene," Detective Umber explained. "We aren't sure whose blood it could be, but there's a small splatter of it a small distance from the body. We have no way of identifying the source of the injury, to say the least, but... It's something for us to keep in mind."

"A small splatter makes it sound like a very small amount," I commented, tilting my head to the side. "That means that the person who bled in the area must have had a pretty tiny injury for it to be such a small quantity of blood."

Detective Umber nodded her confirmation. "We don't know whose blood it is, but we're sure that it came from a pretty minor injury. I'm hoping that we'll figure it all out soon enough, but until then, you'll just have to look out for anyone who could potentially have gotten hurt at the scene of the crime," she told us. 

A distant cry of her name rang through the area, and Detective Umber let out a sigh. "Alright... It seems like I have to go back and see what's going on at the scene of the crime, so I think I'm going to head out now. I'll see you soon," she said. She gave us one final wave before turning on her heel and dashing around the nearby corner. 

As Detective Umber left us behind, I looked over to the other two in my group. "Well, I guess it's time for us to spend time talking to the witnesses," I told them. "We should start with Yuri, Anton, and James. I'm sure that they're going to have the information that we need... At the very least, they'll be able to tell us a little bit, and I'm willing to accept that at this point."

Lily nodded her agreement, and she started to lead us away from the entrance to the school. Soon afterwards, we arrived in an area that branched off into another hallway, and I could see a large gymnasium there. We passed by closed glass doors that presumably led to the cafeteria before arriving at the gym, and I saw that the area was mostly empty. 

There were a few people inside though, and I most notably saw that Anton, James, and Yuri were sitting at the far end of the room on the floor. I walked into the room fully and saw that there was a large set of bleachers on the wall closest to the doors. Of course, they had been pushed together, creating a large stack that reached about halfway up to the ceiling, so nobody was able to sit on them. It certainly made sense as to why the three of them were spending time on the floor rather than sitting on the bleachers. 

"Hey, you three!" Lily declared before dashing up to the trio. She closed the distance effortlessly, leaving Sky and me to run to catch up with her. 

Yuri was on her feet in an instant, and a wide grin broke out on her face. "Hey!" she exclaimed, her hands clapping together. "I'm so glad to see that you're here! We have so much to talk about!"

"Can you tell us about what you saw when you discovered the body?" Sky questioned, getting right down to business in the blink of an eye. "We want to hear about everything that you could have found suspicious at the time."

Yuri nodded after giving James and Anton a brief glance. "It was after the extra clubs at school ended. I was leaving the building when I ran into Mukuro, James, and Anton. They were trying to get James settled in so that he would be able to attend classes here," she began. 

"We were supposed to meet Niamh and Chrysalis here," James sighed while shaking his head. "Niamh is going to be in my class, so we figured that she would be able to help Yuri get me settled in. Chrysalis was meant to be picking up Yuri after school, and yet... They never came by, and we don't have any idea as to why. Apparently, they wound up back at Niamh's house together, though I still don't know how that could have happened."

I frowned at their words, placing one finger on my chin. I didn't know what I was supposed to make of all that, but I figured that I would be able to talk to Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood some other time. Chrysalis had been back at the agency when I dropped by that morning, but she had been asleep at the time, and Mr. Morix insisted on letting her rest. I didn't know what could have made her so tired, but she was clearly exhausted, so I didn't want to disturb her. Besides, I was sure that I would be able to talk to her another time. 

"W-We were walking to the office when M-Mukuro offered to t-try and find them..." Anton began, fiddling nervously with the gem that rested just above his collarbone. "I-I don't know what h-happened... We just h-heard Mukuro s-scream... And then..."

"She found the body," Yuri concluded with a frown. "It was in the trophy area, but I'm sure that you already knew that. We aren't quite sure of how he died, but I have the feeling that you'll be able to put the pieces together regarding that for us."

"Mukuro was arrested because she was the one to discover the body. Everyone thought that it was strange that she stumbled upon everything by accident, so they decided that she must have done it," James went on with a shake of his head. "I know that she never would have done something like this... I don't think that anyone could have looked at this case logically and thought that she did it."

"I-I was with her b-before she l-left to find them..." Anton murmured. "She p-picked me up s-so that we could g-go get James... H-He was there too..."

I let out a gasp, frowning to myself. "You mean to say that she has an alibi?" I asked, just to make sure that I was understanding this case sufficiently. When they nodded, I was left contemplating how this could make sense. Why would the police insist that she was responsible when it was so blatantly untrue? I didn't think that it made much sense in the slightest. If they had looked at the case critically, it would become clear that she couldn't have done it. 

"I guess they think that she did it while we were separated, but I don't think there was any time for her to do something like that," Yuri told us with a small shrug. "I have no idea how that would even be possible... We surely would have heard the sound of shattering glass, but the first thing we heard was her screaming, and there was nothing else. The glass must have been shattered with something too, but there was nothing there for her to use to shatter it. That all adds up to tell me that something is going on here."

"Mukuro shouldn't have been arrested, but I guess that there's nothing we can do to change that now," Sky sighed. "All we can do is try our best to free her of the detention center... Is there anything else that we should know about the case? We're going to have to go and talk to her soon, but we might as well ask for any remaining details before we do that."

Yuri paused for a moment, playing with the edge of her hair, before she shook her head. "I can't think of anything..." she eventually told us. "I don't know if there's anything else that we can tell you about. I mean, all we did was find Mukuro. She was the one who found the body. There was nothing there that struck us as strange, to say the least."

"Hm... If there wasn't anything for you to catch on to, then... I guess that all we can do for now is take a step back and try to talk to Mukuro," Lily concluded with a light shrug. Suddenly, she let out a gasp, and she snapped two of her fingers together. "Actually, I do have something to ask you three about!"

James tilted his head lightly to the side, and Anton imitated the action from his side. I have to admit that it was absolutely adorable, and it was a clear sign of how close they had gotten. "What is it?" James questioned. 

"We learned before coming over here that there was another source of blood found at the crime scene... Would you happen to know anything about that?" Lily questioned. "I mean, there was obviously a lot of blood found around the victim, but there was something else nearby too. It was a small splatter of blood from another person, but we have no idea as to who it could have come from."

Yuri, James, and Anton all glanced to each other before shaking their heads. "Nope," Yuri replied. "None of us got anywhere near the broken glass specifically because we didn't want to get cut and bleed all over the area. I know that Mukuro is smart enough to not to anything like that either."

"Most of the blood went into the display case, but there were a still few pieces on the floor near the body," James explained. "I'm sure that you noticed that when you were looking around the crime scene."

I nodded. "Yeah... We did notice," I assured him. "Still, I have to say that it's rather strange... I mean, it's natural that there would have been blood coming from the victim, but... If there was more coming from someone else, that's incredibly strange. The fact that it wasn't from any of you three or Mukuro only makes this case more complicated."

"It's proof that there was someone else who went to the scene of the crime," Lily concluded. "And that person could have easily been the real culprit. As soon as we're able to figure out who the owner of that blood is, we should be able to find out who the killer is. We'll have to see if we wind up finding that person by accident."

"We could always go by the crime scene briefly and see if we can find the specific place where the blood was found," I offered. "I mean, that wouldn't exactly help us to figure out who the person responsible for it was, but... I think that it would do us some good regardless. We could see just how much blood was dropped, and that would help us to gauge the severity of the injury in question. We already know that it was small, but that isn't exactly very descriptive, huh?"

Sky nodded his agreement. "Alright," he agreed before looking back to Yuri, James, and Anton. "We'll see you all later... But before we go, I want to know... Do you have any ideas about who the prosecutors are on this case?"

The three teens looked to each other before shaking their heads. As usual, Yuri stepped up as the spokesperson for their shared opinions. "Nope. We came down here because the police asked for us yesterday, but no prosecutors have come by yet. We assume that they'll drop by later to ask us about what we saw, but until then, all we can do is wait," she replied. 

"In that case, we'll leave you to it so that we can go by the crime scene one more time before we go to visit Mukuro," Lily declared. "Have a nice day, you three. Feel free to reach out to us if you find out anything else that we should be aware of."

We all waved to one another before Lily led me and Sky away from the gymnasium. I allowed Lily to take us back by the entrance of the school before we headed off in the direction of the trophy area from the day before. Soon enough, we were back to the familiar spot, and the powerful stench of blood assaulted me as soon as we were close enough. I recoiled in response, allowing one hand to come up to pinch at my nostrils. The body was still stretched out on the ground, clearly having not been taken away by the forensics team yet. We had gotten lucky to see it before it was moved to a lab for further testing, though I suspected that it wasn't going to be there for much longer. 

I glanced down at the floor to see that there was a particular spot of blood that had been surrounded by white tape. The forensics team hadn't yet taken the body away, so it was the only source of tape at the scene. There truly wasn't much in the small patch of blood, but I was positive that it was the source from an outside source that had been brought up previously. It simply had to be. 

I looked over to the body before glancing to the patch of blood at my feet. There was a small distance of about five inches between them, and I was sure that it couldn't have come from the victim. All of the crimson that stained his body and the surrounding space was very close to the specified injury. There was a clear difference between the two spots on the carpet, and I couldn't help but wonder what the source of the other patch of blood could have been. 

Lily crouched down next to the blood, close enough to examine it while not fully touching it. She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Hm... Yeah, I agree that this couldn't have been the victim's blood. Granted, we already know that because of the forensics testing, but it seems clear to me that it couldn't have belonged to him," she concluded before rising back to her full height. "I don't think that we know of anyone who could have been hurt at the scene of the crime... I mean, we've spoken with James, Anton, and Yuri already, and none of them were hurt."

"We would have heard already if it was Mukuro that got hurt too," I pointed out. "The police would have brought it up, but they never mentioned anything. I mean, the source of the blood wouldn't have been unknown if it had come from Mukuro. They easily could have compared the DNA between the two different sources to conclude that it was hers."

"We know for sure that it must have been someone else then, but... Are there any other people who we know were even here?" Sky questioned. Silence followed his inquiry, prompting him to let out a sigh. "That's what I thought... On one hand, it means that we have proof that there was an outside party who was at the scene of the crime, but we have no idea who it could be."

I paused for a moment, cupping one hand around my chin. "Maybe it would be a good idea to go and see Mukuro... I have a few questions for her, and I know that you two do as well," I suggested. "I don't think that we're going to find this answer from Mukuro, but I'd also like to try and figure out why her arrest was so rushed. Anyone who put thought to this case would know that she couldn't have done it, and yet, here we are, and she's in the detention center."

"I don't like the idea that someone forced her into being suspected," Sky murmured with a shake of his head. "I don't know what could have made her seem so suspicious. I mean, she found the body, but there was a source of blood from an outside party found so close to the corpse, and yet, it wasn't enough to convince the police that she was innocent. Something is clearly going on here, but I don't have the slightest clue as to what it could be."

"Until we can figure out who the blood belongs to, we're kind of a loss," Lily sighed with a shake of her head. "I really want to know who the victim could possibly be. I mean, all we really know right now is that he shouldn't have been here at the crime scene, but that isn't exactly enough for us to go off. There are millions of people who shouldn't have been at the school. We're just going to have to wait for the forensics team to figure out what's going on."

"Let's go and see Mukuro for now," I declared. Lily and Sky both nodded their agreement, and we all started to make our way back to the front of the building. I didn't know what we were supposed to make of the different pieces of this case. Between the victim's unknown identity, the strange cause of death, and the foreign patch of blood, there was a lot to put together. Mukuro's sudden and rushed arrest only complicated matters, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going to wait at the end of this mysterious path. 

**September 13**

**Detention Center**

**12:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

When we arrived at the detention center, the three of us waited silently for the guard in the visiting area to fetch Mukuro so that we could speak to her. The air was oddly thick and tense, but I couldn't blame them for being nervous. There was clearly still a lot for us to figure out, and there was no way that talking to Mukuro was going to solve all of our problems about this case. 

Soon enough, the girl in question appeared on the other side of the glass. She was clearly exhausted, but I couldn't blame her in the slightest. I was fully aware of just how exhausting a stay at the detention center could be. I had been forced to rest in a room there for quite some time when I was arrested for suspected murder after a killing the year prior, and I knew for sure that I never wanted to repeat that experience. I felt bad that Mukuro, someone even younger than I was, had to go through it after something so awful. 

"Hey!" Mukuro exclaimed as soon as she saw us. Her eyes brightened, but there was still clearly exhaustion lingering beneath the surface. Despite her attempts to banish it, I could see just how tired she was. "I didn't think that you would be coming by so early. Do you want to talk to me about the case?"

Lily nodded her confirmation. "We do, as a matter of fact," she replied. "I want you to tell you about what happened when you first found the body. I think that's going to be an important place for us to start when figuring out the truth of this case. Give us all of the details that you know, okay?"

"I don't think there's all that much to talk about," Mukuro admitted with a loose shrug. "I was just trying to find Niamh, and then I found the victim by the trophy case. He was already dead when I got there. I'm equipped to handle these situations, but since it caught me by surprise, I wound up screaming. You know all the details from there. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary when I was looking around the school. Nearly everybody had already left the building by that point in time, and the people who were still around were mostly in classrooms. I don't know who could have possibly done something like this. I didn't see anyone suspicious when I was wandering around the building. Sorry that I can't be of more help."

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize," I assured her with a shake of my head. "You know... I do have to say that there's one other odd thing about this case. It feels like your arrest was forced. After all, there's clear evidence that you likely didn't do it. There's blood from another person near the body, but we aren't sure about who it could belong to. It makes you seem innocent for sure though."

Mukuro frowned at my words before shaking her head. "That's so strange... I don't think that it's a matter of the prosecution having it out for me either. I mean, they weren't even there at the time that I was arrested for this crime," she murmured. "Even if they had been there, I don't think that it would have changed anything about them being involved with the arrest. I doubt that they would want to accuse me of murder like this."

I glanced over to Sky and Lily before turning my attention back to Mukuro. "Could you tell us who the prosecution consists of?" I questioned. "We haven't been given the chance to talk to them because we haven't seen them anywhere."

Mukuro nodded in response. "Oh, yeah. I suppose that me talking in vague riddles doesn't exactly help when you don't know who you're up against in the first place," she remarked before letting out a light yet forced laugh. As soon as she had calmed herself down from the high of her own forced giggling, she spoke once again. "Prosecutor Burke, Prosecutor Shield, and Prosecutor Cruz are on this case."

Lily let out a gasp. "I didn't know that my brother was on this case...! Then again, it's not as if I would have a way to hear about that... He wasn't assigned to the case as of last night when we first talked about all of this, so I guess that he wasn't put on it until this morning," she remarked with a light sigh. "I agree when you say that they probably wouldn't want to arrest you for this crime. They know that you wouldn't be responsible for something that awful... If you ask me, that only complicates matters further though..."

"If it wasn't the prosecution that thought you were suspicious, then who could have had it out for you?" Sky wondered aloud. "I guess that we'll just have to talk to them about that tomorrow. We'll see who originally gave the order to arrest you. It's clearly suspicious, and I can tell that there's something strange going on here."

Mukuro nodded. "You're probably right in assuming that there's something weird here, but I don't have any ideas as to what it could possibly be... There's not much that I can say on the matter, if I'm being perfectly honest," she confessed. "It's just something that will have to be figured out in the future, but I trust you to take care of it without any issues."

"Is there anything else you want to know from us?" I questioned. "We can do our best to answer your questions even if we aren't sure about the answers quite yet."

Mukuro paused to think about her answer before she let out a gasp. "I do have a question, as a matter of fact. What happened to Niamh? I never figured out where she went, but I've been hoping all day that she didn't wind up in trouble or anything," she said suddenly. 

"She wound up back at her house somehow," I answered after a moment of hesitation. "We aren't quite sure how that happened, but she got from the school to her home sometime around your search of the school. Chrysalis went with her as far as I can tell. Mr. Morix was worried about Chrysalis, but she wound up turning up at the home of Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Lin."

Mukuro nodded slowly. "I see..." she whispered, but I still didn't know what was on her mind. She seemed primarily confused, but I couldn't blame her in the slightest for feeling that way. There were countless facts about this case that I didn't comprehend yet either, and all we could do was make sure that nothing went too wrong while the rest of the investigation played out. 

"We're going to have to be careful about this case... If somebody really did deliberately try to pin this on Mukuro, we'll have to watch out for them. For all we know, they could cause problems for us all," Sky pointed out. He shook his head a moment later. "I think that we should call it here. There's really nothing else for us to do until we can learn who the victim is. His identity is still a mystery to us all, and I think that's the most important fact about the case that's still out of our grasp."

"I'm sure that the pieces involving his gun and knife will come into place as soon as we can learn more about him," I agreed. "I don't know why he would have weapons on his person while inside of a school, but given that he wasn't meant to be there in the first place... I guess there's a lot to think about here."

"I'll trust that you can all figure this case out," Mukuro told us with a shaky smile, but I could tell that she was still worried about everything. I didn't think that it was a matter of her not having faith in us. After all, she could have nothing but confidence in us and still feel nervous about the situation that she found herself in. It was a stressful thing to deal with, and I couldn't blame her for being unsettled about it. 

"We're going to get you out of here as soon as possible," Lily assured her, clapping her hands together out of determination. "For now, you should try and rest. I can tell that you're exhausted, and we don't want you to be too tired at the trial tomorrow."

Mukuro nodded in response. "Alright. I'll see you all tomorrow," she told us. She rose to her feet, but I could tell that her actions were weighted and heavy. She was escorted away from the visiting area by the guard soon after. Mukuro gave us one final wave over her should before disappearing from view. 

I glanced back to Lily and Sky once she was gone. "We should go our separate ways for now," I declared. "I'll see you two at the trial tomorrow. Try to get some rest before then, okay?"

Lily and Sky both nodded before walking away from the visiting area. I watched them go before navigating my way to the entrance of the building for myself. I didn't know what we were going to do about this case, but I prayed that we were able to figure everything out soon. The victim was at the center of this case, and we weren't going to be able to learn anything until we could find the truth behind why he was at the school in the first place. The unknown source of blood was our next clue, and I prayed that we would be able to find the truth behind it sooner rather than later. We were going to get Mukuro out of the detention center. I was sure of it. Still, I couldn't help but wonder how we were supposed to pull that off with how little we knew. 

Regardless, we were going to try. We simply had to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this instead of paying attention in class woo
> 
> -Digital


	34. Turnabout Abduction, Part 4

**September 14**

**Defendant Lobby No. 5**

**9:30 AM**

**Lily Shield**

I got to the courthouse early the next morning, but I couldn't stop thinking about what we didn't know about the case. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't banish it all from my memory. I wanted to know why Mukuro had been arrested for the murder despite it being so clear that she couldn't have done it. There was so much evidence to prove that she couldn't have possibly been responsible for it, but that didn't seem to matter to the police in the slightest. Which of them could possibly have such a large grudge against Mukuro that they would want to purposefully have her arrested? Mukuro was one of the sweetest people I knew, and she didn't deserve to have to deal with any of this. 

The only real possibility that I could think of was that the culprit was somehow involved with the team investigating the case. Maybe the culprit knew that they wouldn't be able to get away with the murder on their own, so they decided to cover their tracks lazily by pinning it on Mukuro. I could certainly see it as happening, but there was something about that explanation that didn't exactly sit well with me either. After all, why would the culprit be at the school either in that case? 

That was the real complication behind this case. We were able to rule out many suspects based on who should have been at the scene of the crime or not. However, since it ruled out many suspects, that left us uncertain as to who could have possibly caused all of this. It couldn't have been any of the teenagers who were trying to show James around the building. They were together the whole time. In fact, Mukuro had been with them for a long time prior to the group splitting up to handle searching for Prosecutor Wood in a more efficient way. 

It made sense for all of them to be at the scene of the crime, but they all had alibis. There were others who were at the scene too, but they either had alibis or lacked motive. Then again, everyone involved with this case lacked motive as far as I was able to tell. Nothing made the pieces come together in a way that made the culprit seem to make sense. There were too many holes in our understanding of the murder. It was frustrating, to say the least, and I had no idea how we were supposed to handle it. 

I watched as Victoria and Sky walked into the room, and a smile burst across my face. "Hey, you two," I greeted simply with a light wave. They approached me where I was sitting on the couch in the defendant lobby as I continued to speak. "I've been thinking more about who would want to pin this murder on Mukuro, but I keep coming up short. Nothing seems to make sense regarding the people who might want to claim that she was responsible."

Victoria sighed at my words. "I was thinking about that a lot too, but I couldn't come up with an explanation. Barely anybody should have been there in the first place since it was a school after hours. I don't know what motive anyone would have had to be there if they weren't a student or a teacher... That could mean that our culprit is either a student or a teacher, but I don't know what to make of that," she admitted. 

"As far as we can tell, there are two potential ways that the culprit could have been killed," Sky began. "First off involves the culprit throwing something at the glass trophy case and causing it to fall apart. That would break the shelves and send the trophy that killed the victim crashing down."

"And the other possibility would have the culprit smashing the glass before getting into the trophy case themselves and picking up the murder weapon from the wreckage," I continued. Sky nodded his agreement as I went on. "I somehow doubt that a student could have been capable of the second unless they were particularly tall, though I suppose that applies to the teachers as well. The victim was huge, so I don't know how any student was supposed to fight them off."

"We won't know until we can learn more about the case's details, I suppose," Victoria shrugged. "I'm not sure about how we can conclude who the culprit is without that. Knowing more about the victim wouldn't hurt either. I somehow feel like that's going to be important."

"There must have been a reason for the culprit to want to kill him. Knowing who the victim is as a person is going to make it easier to figure out what that reason is," I murmured, placing one hand on my chin. "The lack of identification on the victim's person is what really strikes me as strange. There has to be a reason for that, and I'm sure that we're going to hear about it soon enough."

Sky nodded, but he wasn't able to continue speaking. Mukuro walked up to us soon afterwards, a weary smile smeared across her features. "Hey, you three," she greeted in an attempt to seem casual and conversational. Still, I could tell that she was far more bothered by being arrested and suspected than she was letting on at a glance. Everything about her was tense and exhausted, clear signs of stress that appeared in suspects of these crimes. I had come to recognize them in my time as a lawyer, to put it nicely. 

"Hey, Mukuro," I told her, giving a wave in her direction. "We were just talking about the case's details, though I suppose that's to be expected given all that we've come across... We're going to make sure that we can free you from the detention center though. You don't need to worry about that in the slightest. You should just sit back and relax while we handle it. Well, it isn't going to be easy to relax, but you should give it a try regardless."

Mukuro nodded slowly in response, and I got the feeling that she wasn't exactly up for much of anything more than that. Before we had the chance to exchange any further words, we were cut off by a bailiff crying that it was our time to enter the detention lobby. I recognized the voice as belonging to KJ, our favorite bailiff at the courthouse and a good friend of the agency. That prompted a smile to appear on my face, but I didn't say much more about it than that. 

"Let's go on in there then," Victoria suggested with a grin. I could tell that she was nervous, but she still did her best to shelve her concern as she turned to face Mukuro. "We're going to take care of everything. There's nothing for you to worry about."

Mukuro nodded in response as we started to stream towards the entrance to the courtroom. I took in a deep breath before crossing the threshold. I had too many questions about this case to count, but I was sure that we were going to learn the truth sooner or later. It wasn't as if we had much of a choice if we wanted to free Mukuro of the false accusations that were dragging her down. 

**September 14**

**Defendant Lobby No. 5**

**10:00 AM**

**Lily Shield**

I glanced across the courtroom once we were fully settled in and ready for the trial. Just as Mukuro had told us the day before, the prosecution consisted of Robbie, Prosecutor Burke, and Prosecutor Cruz. They all appeared to be prepared for the case at hand, but there was something tense hanging in the air around them all. I couldn't blame them for being tense and nervous given all that was going on. I felt much the same way, if I was being perfectly honest. 

A gavel fell from the middle of the courtroom, and I glanced up to see Judge Frost sitting there. It was the man out of the twins, and he appeared to be far less tense than anyone else in the area. It was a breath of fresh air to see someone relatively relaxed, but he still knew how to get down to business, I was sure. 

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mukuro Erikson," Judge Frost announced. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?" He set his gavel down as he looked over to the prosecution. 

"The prosecution is ready," Prosecutor Burke declared, appointing herself as the spokesperson for her team. Her gaze was hardened into a glare, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that head of hers. 

"The defense is also ready," I announced after giving Victoria and Sky a brief glance. I didn't know what we were meant to do aside from that, so I allowed myself to fall silent as we waited for the next direction. 

Judge Frost smiled to himself and nodded before looking back to the prosecution's bench. "Prosecution, please give your summary of the events of this case," he instructed. 

Robbie wound up reaching for a paper that was facedown on the bench before flipping it around so that he could read it. "Of course," he began before clearing his throat and properly getting into the abridged version of the murder. "The killing took place at the local high school. The victim was found with a head injury in the trophy area isolated from the rest of the building. He was killed instantly by a single blow to the top of his head. We aren't sure of why he would have been in the area, but we intend to find out what his reasoning for being there was sooner or later."

"Do you have the name of the victim?" Judge Frost questioned, clearly confused by Robbie's choice of wording. I couldn't blame him for his lack of understanding; Robbie had deliberately avoided mentioning the name of the victim because, as far as I was aware, we still didn't know it. Maybe information like that had come to light since the day before, but I wasn't sure of it yet. We would find out soon enough though, so that had to count for something. 

"I think that our first witness would do a better job of explaining that than I ever could," Robbie answered. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to call the leading detective on this case to testify about the specific details surrounding the murder."

Judge Frost nodded his response. "Of course. Please call your first witness to the stand now," he said firmly. 

Prosecutor Cruz snapped his fingers together, and he pointed to the witness stand a moment later. "You know who you are," he declared. I couldn't help but frown at his lack of naming the detective. Were we going to be dealing with Detective Umber or Detective Hayes?

I quickly learned that it was the former a moment later as she made her way up to the podium. Her eyes were still shaded with silent guilt the way that they had been the day before, but I still couldn't figure out why for the life of me. As soon as she noticed that I was staring though, Detective Umber shelved her worry and plastered a smile on her face effortlessly. 

"Please state your name and occupation," Prosecutor Cruz continued, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Detective Umber nodded in response. "Of course. I'm Abilene Umber, and I'm the leading detective on this case. I look into homicide cases most of the time," she explained. She let one hand fall to rest on the top of the podium before her, and her casual smile seemed to grow more genuine than before as she grew used to the mask that she was wearing. 

"Please tell the court about the details regarding this case. To be specific, tell the gallery about the truth of the victim's identity," Prosecutor Burke instructed, her gaze growing sharp and stern. 

"Of course," Detective Umber said. She closed her eyes for a moment to center herself before launching into the testimony itself. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Victim's Identity ~**

_-"At first, we didn't know anything about the victim or why he was at the school."_

_-"We have learned his name since then through some digging. His name is Dale Koontsin."_

_-"His presence at the school is rather strange, we have to admit. He wasn't associated with the school at all, and yet, there he was."_

_-"He was killed by a blow to the head as was already explained. The weapon in question was a trophy from the case that he was found in front of."_

_-"There was nothing to identify him on his person, and his car lacked any signs of ID as well. It was all incredibly peculiar."_

_-"We don't know why he would have been at the school or why he didn't keep any forms of ID with him... It's all a mystery that we have yet to unravel."_

I placed one hand on my chin as I thought about the way that the victim had intentionally hidden his true identity. We had already been aware of his attempts to keep everything hidden, but it still struck me as odd, and I was desperate for answers, if I was being perfectly honest. His secrecy was unheard of, and I couldn't help but wonder what reasons he could have had for being so closed away. It wasn't as if he knew that he was going to die, so what other reasons would he have had to try and keep everything secret?

"I think there has to be some unexpected reason for him to keep all of this secret," Victoria whispered to me. "What if it has something to do with the gun or knife found on him? We never heard back regarding the details of the gun."

"It wouldn't hurt for us to assume that, honestly," Sky commented with a loose shrug. "I can't imagine that the gun and knife are unrelated to his actions. That could be just me, but... I don't think that the victim of this case was anywhere near being a saint. Who brings a knife and a gun onto school property? His being unrelated to the campus is even more peculiar, and I don't know how to react to it all."

"We'll just have to cross-examine the testimony and see," I told the two. At about this time, Judge Frost settled his gaze on us to see if we were ready for what was to come. I nodded in response before raising my hand, gesturing for Detective Umber to repeat her words once again. I knew that something was wrong about this case, and even if I didn't yet understand it, I intended to find out. The victim was the biggest memory of the case, and we had to figure out what his issue was as soon as possible. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Victim's Identity ~**

_-"At first, we didn't know anything about the victim or why he was at the school."_

_-"We have learned his name since then through some digging. His name is Dale Koontsin."_

_-"His presence at the school is rather strange, we have to admit. He wasn't associated with the school at all, and yet, there he was."_

_-"He was killed by a blow to the head as was already explained. The weapon in question was a trophy from the case that he was found in front of."_

_-"There was nothing to identify him on his person, and his car lacked any signs of ID as well. It was all incredibly peculiar."_

_-"We don't know why he would have been at the school or why he didn't keep any forms of ID with him... It's all a mystery that we have yet to unravel."_

"Objection!"

"I think that I have an idea about why the victim would have wanted to keep his identity secret from the rest of the world," I began. I could feel a firm knot forming in my stomach already, but I knew that I was going to have to keep going with it all. The knife and the gun did not paint a pretty picture, and the idea of the victim intruding on the scene of the crime only confirmed my suspicions that something was wrong here. 

"Please go on then," Prosecutor Cruz remarked, a frown forming on his face. It wouldn't have surprised me if the prosecution had already figured all of this out, but since none of this information had come to light the day before, we were clueless, and I thought it was worth going through the motions over. 

"The victim should not have been at the scene of the crime by all logical reasons," I began. "I don't know why the victim was there, but I have the sneaking suspicion that something is wrong here. Why would the victim go to a school that he seemingly didn't have a connection to in the slightest? Him bringing along a gun and a knife only makes him seem more peculiar than before... I can't help but wonder if there's something going on here."

"You mean to say that the victim was a criminal in his own right," Prosecutor Burke cut in, and I have to admit that her words caught me by surprise. She was being rather blunt about it all, and my concerns about her and the rest of the prosecution team already knowing the truth were being confirmed before my very eyes. "There's more than enough evidence to show that something like that could easily be possible. It's unpleasant, yes, but it could most certainly be possible with the evidence that we have access to at the moment."

"Please explain in detail. I'm confused at the moment, I have to confess," Judge Frost cut in, glancing over to Prosecutor Burke. His eyes were quietly demanding of an explanation, and I couldn't blame him. I felt out of the loop in this case, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how much worse it was for him since he hadn't ever been given the chance to investigate the scene of the crime. 

"The victim wasn't involved with the school in the slightest. If you want the truth, he shouldn't have ever been there in the first place," Prosecutor Burke began. "He was also found with a knife and a gun as the body was discovered. The knife was found wedged underneath his body, and it opened an injury on his torso after he died. There was a gun found beneath him as well. Weapons are never allowed on school campuses to ensure the safety of the students, but he still felt the need to sneak the weapons in."

"And it's not as if we can pass this off as being an innocent mistake," Victoria continued. "If he really wasn't meaning to hurt anyone and accidentally brought the weapons along, then there would be no reason for him to hide his identity by keeping his ID away from the scene of the crime. He knew that something was going to happen, and he chose deliberately to not bring any signs of identification along so that it would be harder for the investigators to pin him as the culprit."

Robbie nodded his agreement. "It's unfortunate, but that's how we feel about all of this," he said. He hesitated for a moment before looking down to the bench. "Besides, we found more than just the knife and gun on his person. There was one other weapon that was in the area where the body was discovered, and we think that it could definitely show that something here is wrong with the victim. Well, we already know that at this point, but it proves that he's far from being normal."

Prosecutor Cruz jumped in before Robbie could elaborate on what he meant. "We found a bottle attached to his belt. It was hidden by his shirt, so chances are that he was deliberately trying to keep the truth of its presence a secret from most of the people he encountered," Prosecutor Cruz explained. "The bottle in question contained chloroform, and a cloth was shoved into his boot as well. The cloth tested positive for traces of the drug, so we believe that he used it at some point at the time of the crime to knock someone unconscious for unknown reasons."

"Why would he want to knock someone unconscious? Was anyone found unconscious at the scene of the crime?" Sky questioned. He already knew the answer to such an inquiry, but he asked anyways. 

Prosecutor Burke shook her head. "No. We have no idea who his target could have been or why he would have been after them, but we are positive that he had the chloroform on his person when he entered the building. It was hidden, and we didn't know that it was there until the body was taken from the scene of the crime by the forensics team," she went on. "We still need to find a few details regarding the victim in order for all of this to make sense though. We know that he had all of these weapons on his person, but we still don't have any ideas for motive. Something happened to make the victim think that this was a good idea, but we aren't sure about what that thing in particular could be."

"Do you think that the blood found at the scene of the crime could have anything to do with this?" Victoria suddenly asked me, her eyes wide with surprise at her own words. "Maybe the victim attacked someone with the chloroform and knocked them unconscious, and that could have led to their blood being found a short distance away from the body... But I suppose that begs the same question about how said person could have gotten away from the scene. If a person is unconscious due to the influence of chloroform, they wouldn't have been able to run from the culprit either."

"We didn't find anyone unconscious in the building at the time of the body's discovery. We searched every possible corner, and nothing popped up," Detective Umber interjected. "It truly is a mystery, and I don't know where to start."

"We'll simply have to keep looking for details," I said with a light shrug, trying my best to pretend that it didn't bother me as much as it did. Who was the victim really? Why would he want to enter the school with intentions of violence in the first place? It was a bold move of him to walk into the school to hurt someone given how secure most academic campuses consider themselves to be. 

"The victim must have thought that he had better chances of going after his target at the school than anywhere else," Sky told me, and I wondered for a brief moment if he was possibly reading my mind. "If he believed that he would only be able to reach the person he was after while at the school, then he would have taken the risk... I'm not saying that it's a good thing. In fact, it's far from being a positive thing, but... It's something that could factor into us figuring out who he was going after."

"We need to know who could have caught his attention in such a way," I agreed with a nod. I had no idea where we were supposed to start, but we were going to have to do what we could to find out what his goal had been. "He went to the crime scene because he was trying to accomplish this goal of going after a specific person... Maybe his target fought back. That could have resulted in his death."

"In that case, it would have been a case of justified self-defense," Victoria cut in. "That wouldn't put our culprit in the place to be thought of as guilty. They would have had to fight back if they wanted to survive, and that can't be pushed on them in the slightest since the victim would be the one to blame."

"We'll just have to try and figure out the truth behind why the victim was there," Sky murmured with a shake of his head. "I don't know how exactly we're going to be able to do that, but I'm not complaining. After all, we finally have the victim's name, and that's what matters most in my opinion. It was a major blockade before, but it should open up new avenues of investigation now."

"We don't know that much about the victim aside from the fact that he was at the scene of the crime," Detective Umber confessed. "His occupation is unknown, assuming that he had a job at all. There's limited information about him, so we have no idea where to even start. I guess that's going to be where I start when I return to the scene of the crime to look around for new details."

"We trust that you'll return eventually and tell us about what you've learned," Prosecutor Burke told Detective Umber. The detective in question nodded in response before glancing up to Judge Frost, silently asking if she could step down from the witness stand. Judge Frost nodded his confirmation, prompting Detective Umber to leave the courtroom a moment later. 

"We still need to figure out a bit more about what happened at the time of the crime," Robbie frowned. "It's clear that the victim's encounter with the culprit was something strange, but we have no way of uncovering the details as of now."

"The victim going to the school for unfavorable reasons makes me think that there's a lot more to this case than meets the eye. Why would he go to the school unless he knew a lot about his target? He was going out of his way to go after the person who had captured his attention, and they were at the school the day of the crime," Victoria murmured. "It's clear to me that he was killed before he had the chance to fully carry out the crime that he had been planning prior to his arrival at the school, and I think that it's almost for the best."

"It's a harsh thing to say, but if he was really planning on kidnapping someone at the school that day, it's good that something got in the way of him carrying out his mission properly," Sky agreed. "I wouldn't want the person that he was after to be hurt. There's something going on with this case, and I wish that I knew what it could be... I guess that the only way we're going to find out though is by waiting for further details to come to light."

"There is one last thing that I want to mention before we go any further," Prosecutor Cruz suddenly said. He was fiddling relentlessly with the sunglasses on his face as he spoke. "The knife that was found under the victim... It was mostly covered in his blood, but there was a small patch of it that matched the sample of the other stain found at the scene of the crime. It's easy to assume that the victim's knife was also used to cut at whoever was at the scene of the crime."

"That could have been the culprit," I murmured. "But it could have also been the target, now that I think about it. There's no way for us to know for sure what happened at the scene of the crime until we can uncover a few other details."

"We should shift our attention to something else," Prosecutor Burke suggested. "I think that we should call a witness to the stand to testify about what he saw at the time of the crime." Her gaze suddenly seemed tense and strained, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew exactly why that was. She cared a lot about Anton since she was his primary guardian, and she would naturally be defensive of him if she didn't think that it was a good idea for him to testify. I knew how anxious Anton got when he was placed in situations of high pressure, so it wouldn't have been a good plan for him to talk about the crime in detail. 

Judge Frost nodded his agreement to Prosecutor Burke. "Please call your second witness to the stand," he told her. He picked up his gavel and began to spin it between his fingers just to give himself something to do as he was waiting for the arrival of the next witness. 

Prosecutor Burke didn't even wait to look over at the other two working alongside her. She simply pointed to the stand, her gaze still pinched and heavy. "The prosecution calls James Devine to the stand," she announced before allowing her hand to fall back down. 

In all honesty, I was relieved that Anton wasn't the one being asked to testify because of how nervous he got when forced into these sorts of situations. James would definitely be able to handle it better even if he was a few years younger than Anton. The possibility of Anton being called to the stand still appeared to be stressing out Prosecutor Burke, so I made a mental note to avoid calling him if it was at all possible. 

Until then though, there was only one thing that we could really do. James made his way up to the stand, and I took a deep, measured breath. The time had come for us to hear in detail about what happened when the body was discovered. We needed everything that we could get, and I was sure that this would be our first step to uncovering the truth. I hoped that such a suspicion was correct with everything I was. I didn't know how we would possibly be able to continue without new details on this case, to be honest... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super tired but it's okay take update
> 
> -Digital


	35. Turnabout Abduction, Part 5

**September 14**

**Courtroom No. 5**

**11:30 AM**

**Victoria von Graye**

James settled down at the witness stand after he was called, and he rested one hand atop the podium as a gentle smile appeared on his face. I could tell that he was nervous, but he was still doing his best to hide it. My heart was pulled with quiet sympathy, and I wished that there was more I could do to make him feel better about all of this. I supposed that finishing the trial as soon as possible would be my best option though, so I allowed myself to focus back on the situation at hand as soon as I was able to snap myself out of my trance. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost instructed once James was in his proper position behind the witness stand. 

"My name is James Devine," the young man responded. He tilted his head to the side as he continued to smile, and all of his nerves were shoved to the back of his mind in favor of focusing on the current situation. "I work as an actor, but for the time being, I'm focusing on my life as a student first and foremost."

"You were at the crime scene the day of the murder," Prosecutor Burke began. Her tone was far from being accusing, instead simply being a state of fact. "The court would like you to testify on what you saw when you first discovered the defendant standing over the body."

James nodded in response. "Of course. I'll go right from the beginning," he said simply, not taking even a moment to consider the situation at hand. I could tell that he was just as anxious to get this over with as the rest of us, and I couldn't exactly blame him. After all, his previous courtroom experience had been far from optimal, so it was only natural that he would feel on edge while in the area. I just hoped that everything would turn out alright with what he had to tell us about the scene of the crime. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Finding the Defendant and Victim ~**

_-"I was at the school the day of the murder because I was set to be enrolling as a new student so that I could start classes soon."_

_-"I came with Mukuro and Anton to see the building. We were meant to be meeting with two other students who would be in my class, Yuri and Niamh."_

_-"We never found Niamh though, and Mukuro wound up leaving to look around with hopes that she could find her."_

_-"The rest of us headed up to the main office, and we waited for Mukuro and Niamh to come back."_

_-"However, all of that came crashing down when we heard Mukuro scream. We followed the sound and saw her standing above the body when we arrived."_

_-"Mukuro never found Niamh... We later learned that she had gone home, but I still find it strange that she left when she was supposed to meet with us."_

I frowned to myself at his words. I didn't hear anything that really stuck out to me as being a contradiction from the facts of the case. In all honesty, the only subject that really made me think there was something going on had to do with what he mentioned about Prosecutor Wood. 

"I think we should ask about what happened to Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood," Sky whispered, and I wondered for a brief moment if he had somehow found out how to read minds before banishing the thought as ridiculous. "James didn't mention Chrysalis, but we know that she was supposed to be at the scene of the crime that day too. It's weird how she never crossed paths with them or anyone else."

"You're right," Lily agreed with a nod. "I think that's a great place to start from too. If I'm being honest, I have no idea where it's going to lead us, but I'm positive that it's going to lead us somewhere. We weren't able to talk to Prosecutor Wood or Chrysalis yesterday, but I think that it would be a good idea for us to see if we can learn anything more about them that we aren't already aware of."

"In that case, I suppose we should just get started," I said with a small, hazy smile. I glanced up to Judge Frost, already knowing what he was doing to say next. Since we were finished talking about the testimony, that left only one step for us to take from here. 

"Go on and cross-examine the testimony," Judge Frost announced, easily meeting my expectations. After he was done giving us directions, he looked down to James with a kind gaze, a silent way of reassuring James that everything was going to be alright despite his nerves. "Please repeat your words at this time, witness." 

James seemed to appreciate what Judge Frost did for him, and he nodded in response. "Alright. I'll get to that now," he replied. He took in a deep breath, and then he took it from the beginning once again. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Finding the Defendant and Victim ~**

_-"I was at the school the day of the murder because I was set to be enrolling as a new student so that I could start classes soon."_

_-"I came with Mukuro and Anton to see the building. We were meant to be meeting with two other students who would be in my class, Yuri and Niamh."_

_-"We never found Niamh though, and Mukuro wound up leaving to look around with hopes that she could find her."_

_-"The rest of us headed up to the main office, and we waited for Mukuro and Niamh to come back."_

_-"However, all of that came crashing down when we heard Mukuro scream. We followed the sound and saw her standing above the body when we arrived."_

_-"Mukuro never found Niamh... We later learned that she had gone home, but I still find it strange that she left when she was supposed to meet with us."_

"Hold it!"

"I have to ask... Is there anything that you can tell us about what happened with your friend?" Lily questioned, tilting her head gently to the side. "Any details that you have in mind will help us out. We want to know why she didn't meet with you just as much as you do."

James paused for a moment, considering her prompt. "Hm... I don't really know what to say about it, honestly. The only one who could really tell you about it would be Niamh herself. She was supposed to see me after school so that she could help me get settled in with Yuri. However, she never wound up meeting with us. I don't know what could have made her want to leave the school instead of talking to us. She never even gave us notice that she was going to be doing that. It's because we didn't know that she was leaving that Mukuro even decided to go searching for her in the first place," he replied. 

"It's strange that she just left out of nowhere like that. You would expect her to let you all know if she wasn't able to make it," Lily frowned. "Do you know if she had a specific reason for not showing up? Did something happen at the last minute to make her have to go home?"

James shook his head. "No. I have no idea what happened. I asked her over text what made her want to leave the school, but she just said that plans changed. She never went into detail about it... I don't know if something is going on there, but this isn't like her. If she doesn't want to talk about something, she usually just comes out and says it, but she was rather secretive when I asked this time," he went on. 

"It sounds to me like something is wrong with Prosecutor Wood," I whispered to Sky and Lily. "I have no idea why she would want to leave the school out of nowhere like that, but I feel like it's suspicious. Why would she change her mind when James is such a good friend of hers? The fact that she isn't even trying to explain it is only making me feel worse about all of this."

"I feel like we all know that this case is going to need more time of investigation. There are too many holes in the current explanation of what happened for this to be considered as perfectly factual. Anyone who looks closely enough knows for sure that Mukuro couldn't have done it. All we have to do is make sure that everybody else here is aware of that," Sky said. "When we get the chance to investigate the case in more detail, we should go and see if we can ask her about what happened. If we say that it could be related to the murder, then she'll have to give us an answer. It will help to free her friend of suspicion, so I can't imagine that she'll continue to hide it."

"A member of our agency was supposed to meet with you at the school building at the time of the crime as well," Lily commented once Sky had finished speaking, her full attention on James. "She was meant to pick up Yuri after she was finished with an extracurricular activity, but she never showed up either. Do you happen to know anything about what she was doing at the time that the body was discovered?"

James shook his head. "I'm afraid not. We heard that she was with Niamh, but we aren't quite sure of what happened for her to get there. She spent much of yesterday sleeping, but when Yuri was able to get a response out of her about what happened, the only thing that she heard was Chrysalis forgot about what happened," he explained. 

That caught me by surprise, and my eyes went wide. "She forgot?" I echoed. I knew that James wouldn't have lied to us about this, but it still bothered me. What could have made Chrysalis forget? I somehow doubted that this was simply a matter of her forgetting to pick up Yuri. If she had simply missed out on bringing Yuri back to the agency, then she would have returned to Morix Law Offices rather than winding up back at Prosecutor Wood's house. There had to be something else here to explain why she had changed her plans so drastically, but I didn't have the slightest idea as to what it could have been. 

James nodded. "That's what Yuri told me she said anyways. Chrysalis said that she remembered going to the school to pick up Yuri, but afterwards, everything goes fuzzy. When she next fully recognized what was happening, she was back at Niamh's house, and they were together. Chrysalis has been spending a lot of time sleeping since then, but I can't say that I'm sure as to why she would be so tired all of a sudden. There's a lot about what happened with Chrysalis and Niamh that I don't understand. I don't know if they're deliberately trying to cover it up or if something else is going on, but... It's bothering me," he confessed. 

"I can see why," Lily murmured with a small nod. "It sounds to me like there's something that happened to connect them to this case. Even if they weren't at the scene of the crime, they have to tie into this mystery somehow. We're going to need to find a way to speak with them when given the chance to see how they factor in with what happened the day of the murder."

"If you truly think that they're involved with this case somehow, then I'll be sure to give you the chance to speak with them after the day's trial has drawn to a close," Judge Frost declared. "I believe that we are lacking in critical details if we wish to find out the truth behind this case. Too much has been left unknown about the victim's identity and purpose for being at the scene of the crime. The mystery behind the disappearance of two key figures from the scene of the murder is concerning as well, and all of these matters will require further consideration."

I felt my heart swell with relief at Judge Frost's words. He was right in saying that we simply didn't have enough to go off if we wanted to find the truth behind this case, and I was glad that he agreed with me about it. There was a lot more to this murder than it seemed at a first glance, and we were going to have to dig deep if we wanted to figure out the full extent of what happened. 

"Is there anything else that you think we should know about what happened the day of the murder?" Prosecutor Shield questioned from his place across the courtroom. Hearing his voice was enough to snap me out of my thoughts, and I glanced up at him with curiosity in my eyes. 

James paused for a moment, considering if there was anything that stuck out to him. "Hm... I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I have been wondering about what could have been used to break through the glass found on the trophy case. I asked Yuri if she knew of any objects that could have worked as weapons to break through the glass. Still, if someone was looking for something heavy enough to break through, it leaves me wondering... If the culprit's intentions were always to kill, then why didn't they just use the weapon in question to hit the victim instead of aiming for the trophy case?" he questioned. 

I had to admit that he was asking a good question there. The possibility had been brought up before that perhaps this case was an accident rather than simply being a murder, and I was beginning to consider that as well. However, if the culprit didn't want to kill the victim, then that opened a lot of avenues for questions. If the killer never wanted to end the victim's life, then what could their intention have been instead? 

"I also want to know where the weapon could have gone when the killer was done using it," Prosecutor Cruz remarked, snapping me out of my daze. "I feel like something that heavy would have been found during the investigation, and yet, we didn't come across anything that could have been used to break the glass. It's strange that a weapon so significant and heavy went missing out of nowhere like that. The killer could have taken it with them, but you would expect to see someone walking with a heavy object away from the crime scene. Still, nobody saw anyone leaving the scene of the crime, much less someone handling a heavy object that could have been used to shatter the glass of the trophy case."

"I must admit that I'm wondering about that as well," I confessed. "What could have been used to shatter the trophy case? I don't think that something like that would have just broken out of nowhere that way. The glass likely would have broken already if it was unstable enough to only require a small little push to be shattered like that."

"In that case, one of our remaining questions is going to have to be what happened to the item used to break open the trophy case. We know that the trophy that hit the victim on the head was responsible for his death, but something must have broken the glass and caused the case to completely fall apart," Lily commented. "I'm not sure where we're going to find an answer like that, but we're going to have to try and figure it out."

"So, let's think about the subjects that we're going to need to address before the truth can be brought to light," Sky murmured. "We're going to need to find out what was used to break the glass on the trophy case. We also need to know why Prosecutor Wood and Chrysalis left the school behind when they realistically wouldn't have done that. Finding out more about the victim wouldn't hurt either."

I whispered the next words that came free of my lips. "Then there's the matter of who would want to pin this on Mukuro," I murmured. "Why would someone want to accuse her of this when it's clear that she wasn't responsible? Something must have happened to make others want to claim that she was behind this, but... I'm not sure about what it could possibly be."

"We'll have to be careful about how we handle that. If we let someone know that this is happening, bad things could wind up standing in our path, and that's the last thing we want right now," Lily pointed out. She was quiet when she spoke as well, and I couldn't help but think about the potential bad outcomes that revealing this knowledge to the world could have had. I knew well that the legal system was corrupt, but I had never been given the chance to see the full depth of it all. Since I grew up in Germany far from the local issues, I was far from being experienced with them. I didn't think I wanted to find out the truth though. The horror stories that I had heard from Chrysalis were more than enough for me. 

"There's a lot that we still need to find out," Prosecutor Burke suddenly declared, and we snapped out of our small conversation to turn our attention up to her. "It's clear that there is much more to this case than meets the eye. That leaves us to figure out how the pieces come together. Is there anything else that you wish to mention about this case for us to investigate?"

I considered her words for a moment, allowing my eyes to slip shut in my contemplation. I wasn't sure about if there was anything that came to mind immediately. I thought about it for a moment before my eyes shot open once again, and I remembered something important that we absolutely had to find out. "We need to figure out why the victim brought weapons onto the school campus," I explained. That sort of fell into the category of us needing to learn more about the victim as a whole, but it was still important for us to elaborate on. 

Prosecutor Shield cupped one hand around his chin as he answered. "We can say conclusively for now that the reasoning behind such was far from being positive since weapons aren't allowed on campus. The gun, knife, and chloroform combine to paint a picture that is far from being pretty. There's something that pushed the victim the wrong way, and he took to violence to solve the issue rather than communication. I don't know who or what could have gotten him so upset, but we're going to have to figure it out."

"I think that the truth behind his target ultimately comes down to the person whose blood was found next to the body," Prosecutor Burke cut in. "If the victim did succeed in making his way towards his target, then that would explain the splatter of blood. Still, I suppose that we don't have any evidence regarding who it could possibly belong to. For all we know, the blood could belong to the killer. We haven't found a person whose DNA matches what was found in the blood yet."

"Maybe Prosecutor Wood or Chrysalis will know something," Lily commented with a loose shrug. "I'm not trying to say that they're heavily involved with this case or anything, but... It's at least worth asking them about. Their sudden departure from the scene of the crime strikes me as peculiar. Chrysalis is a very methodical person, and I find it somehow hard to believe that she would go somewhere and simply not do her given task. It's not in her nature. Her not remembering is a strange factor in all of this as well... What if something happened to make her forget?"

I found myself frowning as I thought back to what happened during the murder at her theater department's performance. Chrysalis had forgotten about what happened at the time of the crime back then too, and it was because she had been knocked unconscious. I didn't want to believe that history could have repeated itself, but the possibility was simply too great for me to ignore. I desperately hoped with everything I was that this didn't wind up being the case for the sake of both myself and Chrysalis, but my hopes weren't too high. 

"The lack of identification on the body makes it seem to me like there's no question in the fact that the victim was planning on doing something unsavory. We'll just have to figure out what that specific action could have been. I feel like it's at the center of the case if we want to find the truth," Prosecutor Cruz remarked. A frown appeared on his face, and I glanced down to the bench at his words. As much as I hated to say it, he was right. The idea that there was a crime within this case didn't sit well with me, but I didn't exactly have a way to disprove it. After all, I was positive that all of us were sure that Prosecutor Cruz was right. The potential crime that had taken place before the murder wasn't sitting well with me, but we were going to have to find some way to find the truth behind it all. 

"We'll investigate more about the victim when we get the chance to return to the crime scene," Prosecutor Burke assured Judge Frost as she looked up in his direction. "It took some time for us to find out who he was, but since we have a name now, that should make it easier to learn more about him. We don't have many details yet, but that's going to change as soon as I put my mind to figuring out what his goal was when he appeared on the school campus the day of the murder. 

"I believe that now would be the perfect time for us to end the trial for the time being," Judge Frost declared, and I felt a smile of relief explode across my features. I liked that idea far more than I would ever be able to fully vocalize. We simply didn't have enough information to get anywhere close to finding out the truth behind this case. The killer was still a mystery, and the victim was just as much of a conundrum. 

"The prosecution has no objections," Prosecutor Shield declared after sharing a brief glance with Prosecutor Burke and Prosecutor Cruz. He began to slide all of the papers on the bench in front of him together into a single stack. 

"The defense has no objections either," Lily said next with a small nod. She began to do the same thing as her brother, and I silently began to help her out a moment later. 

Judge Frost nodded. "In that case, I see no reason to prolong this trial for any longer than we already have," he told us. He reached for his gavel and lifted it before speaking once again. "I expect both the prosecution and defense to spend an adequate amount of time investigating as much as possible regarding the victim and killer over the course of the next few hours. All information will be considered useful tomorrow. With that said, court is now adjourned!" He hit the gavel down once again. 

I looked over to Lily and Sky before pointing towards the door. They nodded in my direction before following me away from the courtroom. We couldn't afford to linger in the courthouse any longer than we already had. The rest of the investigation was still waiting for us. 

**September 14**

**Defendant Lobby No. 5**

**1:00 AM**

**Sky Amaya**

As I settled into the defendant lobby alongside Lily and Victoria, I let out a small sigh. I would have been lying if I said that I knew what we were supposed to be doing. There were too many questions left unanswered, and while I knew that we had to start somewhere, I had no idea what point would be best for us to begin from. We needed to learn more about the victim, but I believed that we could leave that up to the prosecution for the time being. 

Luckily, even if I was clueless as to where we should be starting, Lily appeared to have an idea. She was messing around with her phone, and I saw a small frown on her face as she scrolled down to read something. "I think that we should go and talk to Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood for now," she said. 

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Victoria agreed with a nod. "Do you think that they're together? I think it would be best if we could take care of them both in one fell swoop, but if we have to split up to see what they're up to, I suppose that we could do that as well."

Lily typed out a message to someone on her phone, and I assumed that she was communicating with Chrysalis. We waited in silence for a moment as we anticipated Chrysalis' response, and I found myself playing with the hem of my shirt to pass the time. I was anxious about all of this, to be perfectly honest. I needed to know what would help us to find the truth, but there wasn't exactly an easy place for us to start from, as much as I hated to admit it. 

As soon as Lily's phone buzzed, my attention was immediately drawn to the device. Lily clicked on something before she smiled. "As a matter of fact, both of the girls that we need to speak with are together, so that will make it easier for us to knock out two birds with one stone," she told us before dropping her phone back into her pocket. "They're at the scene of the crime. Detective Hayes messaged Chrysalis and requested that she come by so that they could talk. It seems that they're finished speaking about the case now though, so that gives us the perfect chance to slide in and see if there's anything new that we can learn from them."

"Great," I smiled before starting to walk towards the door. Lily and Victoria trailed after me, and I let out a slow breath as I passed into the hallway. I was still uncertain about all of this, but I knew that being nervous wasn't going to get us anywhere. If we wanted to find answers, we were going to have to go out of our way to find the truth. There were many inconvenient blockades to our progress, but Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood were our best bet at finding out more about what was happening. 

We were stopped in the hallway by James and Mukuro. The latter seemed anxious, but she was doing her best to hide it when she spoke. "Are you three leaving already?" she questioned. After a brief pause, she continued. "I suppose that I can't get upset with you for that. I mean, I have to go in a minute too."

I nodded my response. "We're going to figure out what happened with Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood at the time of the crime," I replied before looking over to James. "Thank you for bringing up their odd behavior. I think that it's going to somehow tie in with the truth of this case."

James let out a small sigh, and I saw relief flood his gaze. "I'm glad to hear that I was able to help you out," he told us. "Still, I want you to be careful while you're there. The killer is still on the loose, and we don't know when they're going to show up next."

"Chrysalis is with Prosecutor Wood down at the scene of the crime right now," Lily told him. "If you want to speak with one of them, you should probably follow us there. I mean, I assume that you want to talk to Prosecutor Wood about the strange way that she was acting the day of the crime since you were so worried about her, and I guess that now is as good a time as any."

James nodded his agreement. "I'll meet you there as soon as I can," he said, going to walk away along with Mukuro. 

Mukuro kept walking, and she shot us a wave over her shoulder as she retreated, but James stopped when Victoria spoke up. "Maybe you should just go on and come with us," she suggested. "You know... Unless you already have a ride here or something."

James' face lit up, and he grinned at her words. "That would be great, as a matter of fact," he replied. I could tell by his response that he couldn't drive, and this would be the perfect way for him to get to the crime scene. Besides, there was undoubtedly room between the cars owned by the three of us collectively. 

We continued our journey to the front of the building, and I found myself thinking about the case once again. I didn't know how we were supposed to solve all of this, but I had a bad feeling about it. The killer was sitting strangely with me, but the victim was the larger issue to me. Just what had he been trying to do the day of the crime?

Just who had he been trying to hurt? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Age of Calamity is pretty neat
> 
> -Digital


	36. Turnabout Abduction, Part 6

**September 14**

**Blackgate High School**

**2:00 AM**

**Sky Amaya**

I was the last out of us to arrive back at the high school after we left the courthouse behind. Since I parked the farthest from the entrance, I had the longest walk out to the car. My long walk to the car turned into traffic problems that took me a while to overcome. Lily and Victoria were leaned up against the wall just outside the building, and I saw them lingering in the shadows beside the entrance. At first, neither one of them noticed me, so I dashed up to them while breathing heavily. "Sorry I'm late!" I cried out. 

"Don't worry about it," Victoria assured me with a shake of her head and a gentle smile. "It's fine. We already sent James ahead so that he could talk to Prosecutor Wood and Chrysalis for a little bit. We could tell that he was anxious, so we figured that we could at least give him the chance to see what they've been up to in the past few days."

"But now that you're here, we can go and check on them all," Lily told me. She took my hand in her own and began to drag me along behind her, though she was careful to not hurt me in the process. She immediately struck me as being more careful about those things than Felicity, and I don't think I could ever say how thankful I was that she wasn't as eager or excitable as my sister could be. 

Victoria followed us as a small giggle left her lips. Lily took us into the gymnasium area that we had found Yuri, James, and Anton in the day before, and I glanced across the room as I saw the trio of the day sitting together. Prosecutor Wood was in the middle, and she was talking with James. She seemed oddly anxious, and James had an expression of worry plastered on his face. Chrysalis was leaned against Prosecutor Wood's shoulder, and she looked as if she was on the verge of falling asleep. 

Ironically though, Chrysalis was the first one to notice us, and she perked up as soon as she saw that we had entered the room. She poked at Prosecutor Wood to get the other girl's attention, and both Prosecutor Wood and James turned to face us as soon as they realized what had gotten Chrysalis so distracted. 

"It's nice to see you three are finally here," Chrysalis remarked. I could see that her eyes were somewhat droopy, but she still did her best to seem as if she was awake enough to continue talking to us. "We heard that you'd be coming, but we weren't sure of how long it would be until after you were finished with the trial. It wasn't as if we had much of a way of checking how much progress you had made, but... It's fine. Whatever. Why don't you just go on and ask us whatever you had on your minds?"

"We were just wondering what happened with you to make you leave the scene of the crime after the murder took place," I said at first before pausing. "Well, maybe you left beforehand... I don't know. The point is that you were planning on hanging out here to meet with a small group of others, but you never wound up doing that because you left the school early. Could you tell us about why?"

Chrysalis looked over at Prosecutor Wood, and the two both looked concerned for a moment. Chrysalis shook her head before dropping her gaze to her lap. "I don't know what happened, to be honest," she confessed. "I came to pick up Yuri, but she wound up taking a while. I didn't know that she was supposed to be staying after classes for longer than expected, so I decided to come and see what was going on with her here."

"I don't know what happened either," Prosecutor Wood commented with a shrug. Something about her seemed different than usual, but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. She seemed a bit more sure of herself. Perhaps it was because she wasn't involved with a trial. I had only ever seen her in the courtroom, so maybe she was different when stepping outside of the courthouse. There was less to be anxious about when she wasn't focused on a case, after all. 

"So... Both of you went to the school but just lost all recollection of what happened?" Victoria questioned with wide eyes. "I don't like the sound of that... It's sounds to me like there's something going on here that made you forget about what happened at the time of the crime."

Chrysalis sighed with a heavy frown. "I wish I could tell you more than that, but I seriously don't have anything in mind," she confessed. "I was walking around the school after classes had ended, and everything just kind of goes fuzzy in my head. When I next came to, I was in Niamh's house, and I had apparently been sleeping for a while. I don't know why I was asleep in first place, but I don't think it particularly matters."

Prosecutor Wood shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to say about it all," she said next. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Lily was frowning to herself, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead, I remained silent as Prosecutor Wood continued to speak. "I know that the killer died, but I just left after classes were over... That's what I think happened, at the very least."

"But we were supposed to meet up and talk about classes here," James pointed out, and I could suddenly understand where his concern was coming from. If Prosecutor Wood had truly forgotten about all of this, then that was undoubtedly a source of worry and anxiety for him. He had spent so long wondering about what was happening with her, but the answer simply being based in forgetting could not have been easy for him to deal with. 

"I forgot," Prosecutor Wood replied. "I don't know what else to tell you. I simply don't remember talking about it, but I guess that doesn't matter now. There's really nothing more to say about this case than we've already talked about."

Chrysalis nodded her agreement, and I saw that one of her hands was curled up by the side of her face. I could see that she was rubbing at something, and I waited for her fingers to pull away out of curiosity as to what could have attracted so much of her attention. 

It was a small bandage. It only took up a small fraction of the space on her cheek and temple, but it was still large enough to be noticeable. I frowned upon seeing it, and my eyes narrowed. What had happened to her to give her that small cut? After all, she hadn't had such an injury when she was at work the day before. 

Oh no. 

"We should get back to looking around," I suddenly said. Lily and Victoria glanced over to me in shock out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored them and waved to Chrysalis, James, and Prosecutor Wood. "I guess that we'll see you later. If you happen to remember anything, please tell us about it as soon as you get the chance to. Thank you for speaking with us in the first place! See you around!"

I grabbed Lily's arm in one hand and Victoria's in the other as I charged towards the exit of the gymnasium. They stumbled after me, too confused to say much of anything on the matter until after we were back out in the hallway. I released them, and concern fogged my eyes over. "You're not going to believe what I saw on Chrysalis' cheek," I told them quickly. 

"What is it?" Lily questioned, and her gaze, which was previously filled with concern, retreated into something almost fearful. My panic was already starting to rub off on her, and while I did feel bad about that, I didn't have time to fully apologize for it. 

"I saw a bandage on her face," I replied. "You remember how there was a small amount of blood found at the scene of the crime from an unknown source? I'm starting to think that perhaps something happened to give her that injury. She definitely didn't have it a few days ago when we last saw her, and I'm sure that everyone at the agency would be more than able to back up such a story."

Victoria let out a gasp. "Now that you say it... I think that you're right. If Chrysalis had a cut on her cheek when she last came into work, we would have noticed it if she did. The only reason that she hasn't been at the agency since the crime is because she's been resting... I'm starting to think that her not working and that scratch on her cheek are connected," she agreed. 

"It's something for us to think about throughout the rest of this case," Lily murmured. "But there's one other thing about that conversation that didn't sit well with me. I thought that Prosecutor Wood was acting weird, so I decided to try rubbing at my Magatama. It tells me when someone is lying, but I don't know the details beyond the fact that they're being dishonest. Psyche-Locks showed up when she said that she didn't remember what happened at the time of the crime, but that didn't apply to Chrysalis. Prosecutor Wood was lying when she said that she forgot about what happened when the murder took place, but Chrysalis really did forget."

"That's so strange..." I whispered. "Why would she want to lie when her friend's safety is on the line? Something is happening here, but I don't know what it could possibly be... There's got to be an explanation, but finding it isn't going to be as easy as we've been hoping for."

"We'll have to try and find out what she was lying about on our own terms if she isn't going to tell us up front," Victoria said confidently. "I'm still unsure as to what her motive for being untruthful could possibly be in the first place, but... We can't be caught up in that for too much longer. After all, this is our only lead. Chrysalis having a cut on her cheek is strange, and I'm willing to bet that Prosecutor Wood is the one who knows about why it's there."

"We should return to the scene of the crime and see if anything new has been uncovered there," I suggested. "If we get lucky, we'll be able to talk to Detective Hayes about what happened, and we can tell him that Chrysalis has a cut on her face."

Lily nodded her agreement, and she started to lead us away from the gymnasium. I gave a brief glance over my shoulder, and I wondered to myself why all of this was happening. What was the reason behind the sudden lying from Prosecutor Wood? Had she really been lying when she said that she forgot about the meeting planned with James?

I decided to vocalize my concerns while we were walking to the crime scene, and I turned my attention to Lily. "Hey, Lily... Question. Was Prosecutor Wood lying when she said that she forgot about the meeting with James?" I asked her. 

Lily paused for a moment, clearly sifting through her memories to find a response. She shook her head after a moment of hesitation. "No... She wasn't lying about that. I find it weird that she would suddenly forget about something so important though. Then again, Chrysalis forgot about what she was doing at the school before she wound up back at Prosecutor Wood's house, so I guess that we really can't say that this is completely out of the realm of possibility. There are lots of memory issues taking place here," she answered. 

"If you ask me, the way that she was talking made it sound like she didn't know in the first place," Victoria commented under her breath. "I know that it's a weird thing for me to say, but James seemed weirdly concerned around her... I think that he can tell something is off. Maybe she never heard about the meeting in the first place. She didn't elaborate on it much at all before forcing the conversation to move on. There's something strange going on regarding the planned meeting. That's my take on it, at the very least."

"Why would she never know about it in the first place?" I questioned with a heavy frown. "I just don't get it... You would expect her to keep something so important in mind, but... I suppose that just wasn't the case."

Lily and Victoria glanced over to each other, and I looked back and forth between them in confusion. I was positive that there was something I was missing out on here, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. Did they know a way for Prosecutor Wood to not be aware of the truth?

"What if it's Nevada?" Lily eventually inquired softly. She stopped walking and spoke as quietly as possible to keep from catching the attention of anyone else around us. 

I tilted my head slightly to the side. "Who's Nevada?" I asked. Now I was sure that something else had happened that I wasn't aware of. Perhaps it had been before I joined the agency. After all, Nevada was far from being a familiar name to me, and it would have made the most sense if something happened with this strange character prior to my joining the agency. 

"There was a case last year that showed us that Prosecutor Wood has dissociative identity disorder," Lily replied. "Nobody knew about her prior to the case, but... Nevada appeared in a moment of extreme danger. Prosecutor Wood has a severe fear of knives, and when she saw one, Nevada came into view for the first time. Someone was attempting to destroy the Prosecutor's Office with a bomb, but Nevada stopped them from committing the crime by lashing out. The case was ruled as justified self-defense because Nevada kept the victim from ending countless lives."

"As far as we're aware, Nevada hasn't shown an appearance in quite some time... In fact, she might have gone dormant in the time since the previous case," Victoria continued. "Her sudden shift in behavior and not knowing about what happened around the time of the murder... That could certainly point to Nevada being involved. The victim had a knife on his person when he was killed, and if Nevada saw that and went into fight or flight mode..."

"The one problem I can see with that is the size difference between them," Lily said. "Nevada is the same height as Prosecutor Wood, and they're not exactly the tallest people out there. It would have been hard for her to fight back against the killer given how small she is by comparison."

"Technically though, we aren't looking for someone who was able to hit the victim in the back of the head with the trophy," I pointed out. "All that we need is someone who was able to throw something heavy at the trophy case, causing it to break and then allowing the trophy to fall onto the victim's head. This case is all about cause and effect, and if our current understanding of the murder is correct, then it's possible that someone so much smaller than the victim could have committed the crime."

"I still don't know if we can really jump to this conclusion quite yet," Victoria admitted with a frown. "I don't want to jump too far without any evidence. I mean, even if she did do it, I don't think that she's going to just admit it out of nowhere. Besides, we can't really accuse Nevada of being responsible based only on some limited strange behavior. She left the school before she was supposed to, but that could have also happened due to being absentminded."

"For now though, we should definitely go and tell Detective Hayes what we think about the blood found near the body. If it really does belong to Chrysalis, then that could completely change the way that we've been looking at this case," Lily declared. "If she was involved somehow, then this is the proof that we need to place her at the crime scene... I don't know how much good that's going to do us though. Chrysalis still doesn't remember anything, and I don't think that she's going to suddenly recall everything that happened at the time. If she was unconscious or something, there's no way for us to say what happened."

"We'll have to dig a bit deeper until we can find out what's going on then," I sighed. "I do agree that talking to Detective Hayes is a good idea for the time being though. If he really does have something figured out, then we're definitely going to want to hear about it as soon as possible."

"I don't like the fact that Chrysalis was likely at the scene of the crime," Victoria confessed, shaking her head. "I don't know... Something about it just sits weird with me. Maybe we should try to ask her about it a little later down the line."

"If we're going to do that, we should catch her when she's alone," I pointed out. "If Prosecutor Wood, or Nevada, for that matter, was involved with the crime, she could try to stop us from hearing the full truth from Chrysalis. I don't think that it would be a danger to us at all to make sure that we're alone when we talk to Chrysalis, so... We might as well be safe rather than sorry."

Victoria glanced down at the ground before taking in a slow, heavy breath. "I suppose that all we can do is talk to Detective Hayes like we already agreed. At least, that's all that we can do for the time being. We can consider our options more after we've come a bit further in figuring out what happened at the time of the crime," she said. She started walking back towards the scene of the crime, and she gestured for us to follow her. I nodded to myself even though I knew that she couldn't see it and trailed after. Lily did the same thing, but I could tell that she was still worried beyond imagination. Her eyes were trained on the ground firmly, and she shook her head silently, clearly not wanting to believe what was happening. 

It wasn't as if I could blame her in the slightest. This case was already shaking out to be far more solemn than we could have anticipated. Nevada's potential involvement had me far more worried than I was choosing to let on. I didn't know much about her since she had only appeared before I joined up with the agency, but the possibility made me nervous. The only other time that Nevada had appeared, she had turned to violence. As far as I could tell though, she hadn't exactly had much of a choice. The case that Victoria and Lily described was clearly one of justified self-defense since the victim was planning on killing countless people, but that didn't stop my mind from swirling in curiosity and concern about this Nevada character. Then again, if she really was involved with this case, I was going to find out more about her soon, so I would simply have to be ready for whatever came next. 

As we arrived at the scene of the crime, I looked down to the floor. There was one notable change that caught my eye immediately, and I let out a small gasp upon realizing it. The body had been removed, and I figured that the forensics team was already starting to run tests on it to make sure that there was no new information for them to glean. The space felt far less cramped and suffocating with the absence of the victim's body, but I still hated the sight of his blood all over the floor. I looked away to keep from feeling too sick at the reminder that someone had died in this very space less than seventy-two hours prior. 

I allowed my eyes to find the area that had been outlined to show where the other source of blood had dripped into the carpet. There wasn't much of it, though I don't know what I expected given that we had just come to see the space the day before. It looked the same as always, but this time, something about it felt different. A little voice in the back of my head whispered that this was because we knew that we could potentially link it to Chrysalis, but I did my best to shake that off to the best of my ability. 

"I still don't see anything here that could have been used to shatter the glass," Victoria remarked, snapping me out of my trance. I glanced over in her direction and saw that she was quickly examining the area with a swift eye. "The glass was shattered because something from outside of the case slammed into it. I don't know what could have been used as a weapon to accomplish something like that, but I suppose that we saw that coming before we even came here. We heard during the trial that nobody had managed to find something like that."

"There has to be some weapon here in the school to show that something happened here," Lily said confidently. She placed one finger on her chin and frowned to herself. "I don't know what it could possibly be though... Well, I suppose that it doesn't have to be in the school. The culprit could have taken it with them since we heard during the trial that nothing suspicious was found in the building."

"It's not like we can really say that there's nothing suspicious conclusively though," Victoria pointed out. "This is a pretty large building, and I'm sure that there are places that something heavy enough to shatter the glass could be hiding. Nobody found it on a first search, but I somehow doubt that anybody has been able to look more in depth than a simple once over of the building. This place is simply too big for multiple searches to have been held, and something easily could have been missed or glossed over."

"Plus, what someone considers suspicious might not fall into the same category of what someone else does," Lily agreed with a nod. "We just know that it's something that would have been able to be thrown easily. I know that the chairs are attached to the desks for the most part in this place. I got a brief glance into a classroom when we were walking here, and the desks and chairs are connected by a metal bar. That takes a chair out of the equation of potential weapons that shattered the glass."

"Nobody would have simply had a desk on hand anyways," I murmured. "I mean, everything about this crime screams that it was improvised. There are better weapons to use to throw at the glass than a desk or chair, and if the crime was premeditated, the culprit would have had something on hand. The only person here who actually had a weapon on them was the victim though... I don't know what we're supposed to do regarding the culprit."

"The trophy could have hit the culprit by complete accident too," Victoria said. "We've been operating under the possibility that this crime was accidental, and I think that we should continue to do that. If the crime was premeditated, I feel like the culprit would have had something else on them to fight back rather than simply an item that was thrown at a trophy case. It doesn't make sense..."

"The crime being accidental would make a lot of sense, but we need solid proof that the culprit didn't mean to kill the victim," I remarked. "For now, let's just keep looking around though... Detective Hayes really should be here, and as soon as we see him, we have to tell him about Chrysalis."

"What about Chrysalis?"

I'm ashamed to admit that the sound of a voice behind me made me nearly jump out of my skin. I let out a yelp of surprise and turned to face the one responsible, my eyes wide and transparent. My heart skipped a beat out of pure shock before I realized that it was only Detective Hayes. He looked rather guilty for frightening me, so I did my best to shelve my raging fears as soon as possible. 

"H-Hey..." I said carefully, waving slowly in his direction as soon as I was able to force myself to speak once again. "We were just looking for you, actually... If it's alright with you, we were wondering if perhaps we could tell you about what we've discovered about the crime."

Detective Hayes nodded to us. "That would be great, as a matter of fact. Please, tell me everything," he told us, and I saw his eyes light up with excitement. I couldn't help but think that perhaps he had been just as desperate for a lead as we were. Would anybody be able to blame him for that? This case simply wasn't being friendly to any of us, after all. 

"We think that we've figured out where the blood from the crime scene came from," Lily began to explain. "We spoke with Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood before coming here, and we saw that Chrysalis has an injury on her cheek that wasn't there when we last saw her. We can't help but wonder if perhaps it has anything to do with the crime. After all, the last time that any of us came into contact with Chrysalis was before the murder took place, and the second source of blood... It strikes me as strange, to say the least."

Detective Hayes watched us with wide eyes before he managed to force himself to speak once again. "I see..." he whispered. "I didn't notice anything wrong with her, honestly... She's been practically glued to Prosecutor Wood's side all day. When I dropped by to talk to them for a while earlier on, Chrysalis' cheek was completely covered up since she was leaning up against Prosecutor Wood."

"She's being weirdly affectionate," Victoria remarked. "I mean, I know that Prosecutor Wood is her friend and all that, but I can't help but find this to be a bit weird. I mean, I feel like you two have to know what I'm talking about. Chrysalis isn't exactly the most affectionate person until she gets to completely know those who she's spending time with. She isn't even entirely cozy around me, and I've been working with her for more than a year now."

"That's strange..." I muttered. Part of me was starting to wonder if this was perhaps deliberate. It was a ridiculous thing for me to say out loud, to imply that maybe Chrysalis was trying to hide the injury on purpose, but if that was really her intention, she would have done a better job of it. Chrysalis was a secretive person as far as I could tell. She knew that she wanted others to be aware of and what she wanted to keep secret. If she was trying to keep this information from us, she would have done a better job of it. 

"Still, the possibility of her being the one who the blood belongs to is most certainly suspicious... I'll do what I can to try and learn more about that. Thanks for talking to me about it," Detective Hayes continued, forcing me to glance up at him once again. 

"No problem," Lily assured him with a small shrug. "Is there anything else that you've stumbled upon since we last spoke? Anything that you have to tell us will be useful. We're sort of at a roadblock of sorts."

Detective Hayes hesitated at her words before letting out a sigh. He shook his head as he stared down at the floor, and I felt my stomach do a flip. That was not a good sign. "Well... There is one thing that I've found out... Let's just say that we've learned a lot about the victim since the trial started this morning," he explained. "Detective Umber brought the report by earlier, and... I think that you're going to want to know this."

I glanced over to Lily and Victoria, and I saw that they were just as blatantly concerned as I was. Still, I did my best to shake off my worries as I looked back to Detective Hayes. "Please tell us everything," I said, desperate to find out so that I could put this aching feeling at my core to rest. 

Detective Hayes nodded slowly, taking in a slow and careful breath. "You aren't going to like this... I don't think that anybody wanted to hear this information about the victim, but I guess that there's nothing we can do about it now," he muttered. Once he was finished whispering to himself, Detective Hayes corrected his posture and looked at us all. "I'm going to go on and rip the bandage right off. We did some research into the victim, and we found out that he is far from being who we expected... Dale Koontsin, the name that we've identified him with, is his true name, but the victim has countless aliases and false identities. He's used those fake names to commit crimes, and he has an extensive criminal record far beyond what any of us could have ever seen coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ate so many mashed potatoes
> 
> -Digital


	37. Turnabout Abduction, Part 7

**September 14**

**Blackgate High School**

**3:15 PM**

**Lily Shield**

Aidan began to speak a moment later, and I bit down on my lip to keep from voicing how nervous I was about all of this. "You see, the victim is known to have been involved with criminal activity. That's why he had so many false identities. It took us a while to learn more about him because of his previous ties with unfavorable figures. He gets money from unexpected sources, and there's no way of saying what he exactly does for a living. If you ask me, he's probably gotten all of the money that he has on hand through committing crimes for specific clients who pay him after he succeeds in carrying out their orders," he continued. 

"That's not a good thing at all," Sky remarked, rubbing at the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. I could tell that 'not a good thing' was the understatement of this century, but I chose not to call him out on it. Instead, I simply waited as he kept talking. "If he was really involved with such unfavorable activity, then why did he come to the school? It's not as if he would have much reason to come into this area. A school doesn't have much of anything to be noted by a criminal."

"We've been trying to figure out the reasoning behind that too, but let's just say that we believe that he was sent here by a client," Aidan went on. "We aren't sure of who would have wanted him to come to the school, but it seems pretty clear to me that the person responsible wanted him to get something done in this area."

"There has to be evidence left behind of his association with this patron. If they contacted one another through the internet, there's got to be proof that they met up. From there, we can meet up with the person that contacted him, and then we can ask what they had him do. I mean, they can fight back all they want, but it's still worth a shot in my opinion," Victoria pointed out. 

"We're doing our best. Detective Umber is still trying to figure out what's going on there, but we haven't found any evidence to show who was behind all of this," Aidan sighed with a shake of his head. "As soon as we figure out who told him to do all of this, we're going to tell you. This is a very important fact to keep in mind where this case is concerned, and I don't think that we'll be able to find the truth behind what happened until we can unravel all of that."

"I see," I murmured, closing my eyes slowly. If I was being perfectly honest, all of this talk about the crimes that the victim had committed was rather familiar to me. In fact, it sounded just like the incident with Cormous from the year before. Well, I call him Cormous, but there was something else going on there. 

In truth, Cormous had wound up being an assassin who was in contact with the infamous Emsthorpe family. He had been sent our way to try and learn more about Oracle, but he was found out before he could accomplish such. Nevada actually wound up keeping him from causing any further problems by lashing out before he could complete his goal. He had nearly been caught by Prosecutor Luis Cruz, and that was when Nevada showed up. 

I didn't want to think that something similar was happening here, but it most certainly seemed possible. I shook my head at the thought and glanced over to Victoria. She had noticed that I was lost in thought, and I got the feeling that she was thinking the same thing that I was. "Reminds me of Cormous," Victoria said softly, just to confirm my thoughts on the matter. 

Sky tilted his head to the side slightly, and I remembered that he hadn't been part of the agency as of the time that Cormous first appeared and started causing problems. "He was part of our agency for a while, but he wound up betraying us. We learned that he was an assassin working for the Emsthorpe family. I'm sure that you've heard of them because of how notable they are in causing issues within the legal system," Victoria began to explain, jumping onto the words before I could force my lips to form them. 

Sky's eyes went wide in surprise immediately. "You can't be serious," he whispered, but I was sure that he believed us despite his seemingly obvious denial. When neither Victoria nor I disproved her claims, he let out a sigh and glanced down to the ground. "Yeah... I have heard of them. They've been involved with unappealing legal business for ages. They have a grudge against the legal system, and it's caused them to lash out on multiple occasions."

"Exactly," I confirmed. "I know that they operate out of the shadows, and you never really know who you're going to deal with until you come across them personally... It's an unfortunate thing to have to put up with, but I guess that there's nothing we can do about it until after we get past all that's happened recently... It'll take a miracle for us to find out what the Emsthorpe family has been up to, actually."

"We haven't found anything to make us think that he's connected to the Emsthorpe family, but it could be possible," Aidan remarked with a light shrug. "Until we find solid proof though, all we can really do is wait and see how everything unfolds... I'm sorry to disappoint you there. We're going to keep trying to figure out who his sponsor could have been behind all of this. We don't know what could have brought him to the school, but... I feel like we're getting closer."

"Thank you for telling us all of this," Victoria told him. "We're probably going to head down to the detention center soon to see Mukuro. We'll be sure to tell her that you say hello!" 

Aidan's eyes lit up, and he waved as we retreated from the crime scene. As soon as we had rounded the nearest corner, my smile slipped from my face, and I looked down to the ground. "Something weird is going on here... I wish that we had a way of knowing who was responsible for all of this," I confessed. "I don't know if that's even going to help us in figuring out the truth of this case though. Unless his client betrayed him and decided to kill him, then there's really not much here for us to go off... I mean, it's nice to know that we weren't exaggerating when we thought that he shouldn't have been at the scene of the crime, but that's about all that I gathered from that conversation."

"The unorthodox way of the victim dying makes me think that somebody else was responsible," Victoria commented with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, there's not really any evidence of that given the fact that anyone could have done this if they were given the right motivation. The crime was definitely far from being premeditated. It's easy to see that from a simple glance at the crime scene."

"I want to know more about why Prosecutor Wood feel the need to lie to us," Sky sighed. "You know, unless she really is Nevada, but... I don't know. I'm just bothered by all of this, and I don't know what I'm supposed to think, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"We still don't know why anyone would have wanted to pin this on Mukuro either," I pointed out. "I don't even know for sure if we're going to be able to put the pieces together there. As of now, it's simply a theory, and there isn't exactly any solid proof for us to grasp to as evidence that somebody really did try to frame her."

"We'll have to be careful about how we proceed from here. That much is clear no matter what we do from here," Victoria remarked, nodding to herself. "I feel like that's kind of obvious, but... Whatever. Is there anything else that you guys want to talk about before we head to the detention center to see Mukuro?"

"I'm wondering about the blood found near the body still," Sky said. "I mean, if Chrysalis really was there, that raises a lot of questions. We know that she was here to pick up Yuri, but she shouldn't have wound up hurt in the first place. If she encountered the victim in the hallway and saw that he had weapons, she wouldn't have called him out. Chrysalis is quiet enough as it is, and I somehow doubt that she would put herself in danger upon seeing something that threatening and terrifying."

"Unless the victim was here because of her or something," Victoria murmured with a small laugh. "But that wouldn't really make sense, right? I mean, Chrysalis barely comes by here anymore. There was no guarantee that she was going to be in the area, and if the victim was banking on her coming here, he clearly wasn't thinking things through all that well."

I paused to consider her words before shaking my head. "You're right in the fact that it wasn't reliable, but... Why would Chrysalis wind up hurt when nobody else was? She definitely seems to be acting different too. The last time that I remember her acting so open and empty was back during the case at her theater group's first performance. Chrysalis is pretty good at guarding her vulnerabilities most of the time, but she was pretty open about something being wrong in both cases," I murmured. 

"She got hurt back then too," Victoria pointed out. "It's something for us to consider at the very least, and doubly so if Prosecutor Wood really is involved with all of this. I somehow doubt that we're going to be able to get either one of them to open up so quickly though. Well, Chrysalis can't exactly open up if she doesn't remember what happened at the time of the crime, but... Prosecutor Wood probably won't just allow us to swoop right in and get her to talk to us."

"She's nervous and fidgety most of the time, and even if she seems a bit more sure of herself right now, chances are she would go into defensive mode if we said that we wanted to hear more from her," I agreed. "We'll have to wait until we can take her into the courtroom. It's way harder to lie when you're in that sort of environment."

"Until then, maybe we should go on and talk to Mukuro. For all we know, she could have heard about what's been going on. She could have suspicions about if she really was framed for this by some unknown figure too," Sky remarked. "It seems pretty clear to me honestly, but she might have a different perspective that we simply don't have access to... I still don't know who could have wanted to do that, but it hardly seems like the greatest of mysteries regarding this case. There are other things that definitely require our attention first and foremost."

"Let's go over the list of facts that we need to find out for now," Victoria proposed. "The ones that come to mind involve who the victim's client could be, the origin of the blood at the crime scene, why Chrysalis forgot what happened, if Nevada really is back, who the victim's target was, and why he was at the scene of the crime in the first place... Wow. That's a lot more than I was expecting, and that still doesn't factor in Mukuro potentially being framed for all of this."

"We're the closest to figuring out where the blood comes from, but there are still a few questions about that. We need to get some conclusive evidence to show that it's from Chrysalis," I said with a small nod. "It wouldn't hurt to know why Prosecutor Wood took Chrysalis away from the scene of the crime in the first place. Then again, I suppose that ties in with the matter of if Nevada is back or not, so... It might have to wait a while longer."

"We'll get there eventually," Sky assured me, but I got the feeling that he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to get the point across to both me and Victoria. "I don't think that there's much of anything else that we can do around here though..."

"Oh, I just remembered!" Victoria cried out. "We don't know what the weapon used to break the glass was either. It would have had to be something heavy yet portable to keep anyone from noticing that someone was carrying around something so large... I suppose that everything there will come into place around the time that we figure out who the killer is, but..."

"There are so many unsolved loose ends in this case... I feel like finding out what happened during that encounter between the killer and the victim is most important. If we have to wait on learning more about what happened between the victim and his client, then so be it. As long as we're able to clear Mukuro's name, then we'll have done what matters most," I told them. 

"Maybe the client was somehow involved in the incident where Mukuro was framed," Sky commented. "I mean, it's not as if I have any evidence, but... Their goal would be to keep all eyes off the victim since the truth about his criminal activity coming out would track back to them in the long run. If they shifted the focus away and towards somebody else, then nobody would want to pay attention to the victim's past transgressions."

"That certainly sounds possible," I agreed. "If that's the case, then the client must hold some serious power within the legal system. I somehow doubt that Mukuro would have been arrested over an anonymous message that came from someone completely uninvolved with the case. However, if the rumor came from somebody who held power within the legal world, then Mukuro's sudden and irrational arrest would make a lot more sense."

"Detective Umber might know something... Maybe we'll run into her down at the detention center. If we do, we could ask her about it," Sky pointed out. "Still, I guess we won't know until after we go and see what's going on down there, so... Let's get to it. I think that we've summarized about everything that we need to discuss regarding the case now anyways."

"Perfect," I agreed with a nod. "In that case, let's see what the detention center has in store for us... Hold on for just a little bit longer, Mukuro. We're going to find a way to get you out of there as soon as possible. I can promise you that for sure."

**September 14**

**Detention Center**

**4:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

I slid into my seat once we arrived in the visiting area of the detention center, and I began to tap my foot against the ground as a way of passing the time. I counted the number of times I hit my toes against the floor below. The number rose quickly, but I didn't mind. It kept my mind busy, and it ensured that I wasn't worrying more than I already was about everything that was happening involving the unsolved loose ends of this case. It was the distraction that I desperately needed. 

Mukuro arrived on the other side of the glass soon after, a weary smile on her face. "Hello, you three," she greeted casually, but I could tell that she was far more bothered by everything happening than she was letting on. "It's nice to see you back here... Did you manage to find anything during the investigation?"

"We've learned some new information about the victim that we think could help to pull the full picture into perspective," Lily told her with a conversational smile. "It's not exactly good news, but... We heard that the victim was involved with a lot of criminal activity in the time leading up to his death. He was likely hired by an unknown client to go to the school on the day of the murder, but we don't have any reasons in mind for why that would have been his destination."

"There aren't any clues about who his client could possibly be either," Sky said next. "We know that the client has to be involved with all of this somehow, but we aren't sure of how specifically. As soon as we're able to figure it out though, we'll be sure to tell you. Detective Umber is supposedly looking into it, but we haven't seen her at all today, so it isn't as if we can simply ask her if she's found anything yet."

"She was here earlier, actually," Mukuro remarked. "She wasn't in the detention center for long, but she decided to swing by and see how I was doing. I guess that she got worried about me... There seemed to be something on her mind though. It was as if she couldn't fully focus on the situation at hand, though I don't know why that could possibly be."

"I find that rather odd, I have to say," Lily murmured. "Maybe this is just me jumping to conclusions, but I don't think it's really like Detective Umber to be distracted to that degree. If we happen to see her again, we'll simply have to ask if there's anything going on there."

Mukuto nodded her agreement. "Yeah, but that can wait for now. For the time being, how about you tell me about everything else that you found out? I'm seriously curious about the details, and it's not like I have anything else to do in this place," she commented before letting out a hollow laugh. 

"There's one thing that I want to ask you," I began. When Mukuro turned to me with attentive eyes, I continued to elaborate. "I was wondering if you noticed anything strange about the way that Prosecutor Wood was acting around the time of the crime. We know that she never showed up to speak with you as was planned, but... We want to know if she started acting oddly before that point. Did you happen to see her doing anything strange?"

Mukuro shook her head. "Nope. I didn't see Niamh at all on the day of the murder. She just wasn't there when she should have been, but I still don't know why. Is there any reason that you asked that?" she questioned. 

"We just think that Prosecutor Wood's behavior has been suspicious, and we were wondering if you had any details," Sky told her before I could explain our thoughts on Nevada. I wasn't planning on it in the first place, but I appreciated Sky's attempts to keep Mukuro safe from our theories regarding the truth. The last thing that I wanted to do was stress her out more when it came to this case, and I could tell that she was anxious enough as it was. Anyone could see the nervous way that her eyes darted around the visiting room if they looked closely enough. Mukuro would find out the truth if she had to, but until then, I was more than content to keep it on the down low. 

Mukuro nodded slowly before turning her attention to the ground. "I understand... How about the murder weapon? Have you managed to find out anything about what was used to break the glass at the scene of the crime yet?" she asked next. 

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not. We're probably getting closer to finding out what happened, but we still haven't managed to find the evidence that we need to fully unravel the truth about what broke the glass. I'm hoping that we'll have it all figured out in time for the trial tomorrow though, so you'll find out then," I answered. 

"I understand," Mukuro murmured, more to herself than any of us. "Is that all that you wanted to tell me? I don't want to keep you if you're still planning on going to speak with Detective Umber before the day is done."

All three of us on the defense team glanced over to each other to check for signs that there was something we had missed. When we didn't find anything, I turned my focus back to her. "No, I don't think so," I told her with a kind smile. "Thank you for talking to us about all of this, Mukuro. We'll be sure to do everything that we can with the information that you've given us so that you can get out of here as soon as possible. I promise."

"I'm counting on you," Mukuro replied. She waved to us as we all moved away from the visiting room. I could see her being escorted from the room as I passed over the threshold into the hallway outside, and I hoped that Mukuro would be alright overnight. We were closer to the truth than ever, but it still felt as if there was more uncertainty than there should have been at this point of the investigation. There wasn't anything that I could do about it, but I still found it to be rather unfortunate. 

Luckily, the universe gave us a blessing to make up for the crummy way that it had been treating our investigation thus far, and I gasped in surprise as a familiar figure appeared in the hallway. It was none other than Detective Umber. She was looking down at her phone and swiping through something, but I could tell that there was something on her mind. She barely seemed to be paying attention to what was happening about her, and I could certainly see where Mukuro was coming from when she said that Detective Umber was distracted for seemingly no reason. It was a stark contrast from the bubbly optimism that I had gotten used to hearing about regarding her, and I wasn't entirely sure of how to approach her. 

Lily decided to take over the job for me, and she casually walked up to Detective Umber with a smile on her face. "Hey, Detective Umber," she greeted. "Is it alright with you if we ask you a few questions about the case? We're still looking to tie up a few loose ends, and we believe that you would be the best person for us to gather this information from."

Detective Umber seemed to snap out of her trance upon hearing Lily's voice, and she plastered a grin upon her features recklessly to try and cover up the nerves that were clearly settling in. "Sure!" she exclaimed. "I take it that you guys came here from the scene of the crime. After all, I know that you tend to visit your client after you're finished investigating for the day."

I couldn't help but wonder why she had access to such information, but I chose not to call her out on it since I was unsure of where it would lead us. Given how distracted she was, she would have likely claimed that it was a slip of the tongue, and for all I knew, that was all it was. Maybe she had jumped to conclusions because she was still uncertain about the case. 

My thoughts were disturbed by Sky nodding at her words. "We did," he replied. "We just finished speaking with Mukuro, as a matter of fact... We heard from Detective Hayes that you've been looking into the victim though, and we were wondering if perhaps you would be willing to share any of the information that you've found with us."

Detective Umber hesitated for a second that seemed to stretch on for a generation. There was something more going on with her than she was letting on, and it was already starting to bother me. She wound up shrugging as she glanced down at the ground. "I don't think that there's much that you know that I don't, if I'm being perfectly honest... I'm still trying to figure out who the victim's client was, but we're coming up short no matter where we look. There simply isn't enough evidence to put the pieces together right now. I'm sorry to disappoint."

"What about his other criminal ties? If he was involved with other darker affairs, there has to be evidence. Are you sure that he isn't involved at all with groups that target specific parties?" I questioned, trying to seem as casual as possible. I could tell that there was more to this than met the surface, but I didn't want to distress Detective Umber by letting her know that. 

Detective Umber shook her head. "I'm afraid not. We don't know anything about the victim," she said softly. "We have a name, but that's honestly all that we've got access to. I wish that there was more for us to look at, but we're still not able to find anything of value."

"There's one more question that I have, if that's alright," Lily said. I could tell that she had also picked up on Detective Umber's odd behavior, but she was choosing not to comment on it for the time being. "I was wondering... What process led to the arrest of the defendant?"

Detective Umber fell silent for a moment after that, and she continued to stare down at the floor, seemingly unwilling to meet any of our gazes. "I'm not sure," she answered. The air seemed to grow heavier for a moment before she looked up to explain further. "I can say for sure though that there was a phone call that came in for one of the leading officers who first arrived at the scene of the crime. The person on the other end said that Mukuro was suspicious, and that was why she was taken in as a suspect. I was forced to take her into custody, but I don't think that she actually did it. Somebody else must have been responsible for all of this."

Lily nodded at her words, and another false smile appeared on her face. "Thank you for your help, Detective Umber," she told the other woman. "That's all we wanted to ask you. I'm sure that you have to get back to the investigation, so we won't keep you. We'll be looking forward to seeing you again."

Detective Umber flashed us a grin that was so obviously fake that it almost hurt to look at. "Okay," she replied quickly. She didn't even bother with saying anything else, instead choosing to pivot on her heel and walk away, leaving me, Sky, and Lily alone in the hallway. 

Lily waited until she was sure that we were alone before gesturing that we both lean in. She seemed ready to whisper something to us, so I followed her advice willingly. "I can tell that she was lying about that. Something is going on, but I'm not sure what it could possibly be," she murmured. "My Magatama reacted and indicated that she was hiding something, but... She was only lying about part of the truth."

"What do you mean?" Sky questioned, and I saw his expression fall as he realized that this was going to be another situation similar to what we had already encountered with Nevada. "If she was lying about part of the truth, then that means that she knows something about this case. I don't know why she would want to lie, but..."

"She was lying when she said that she didn't know why Mukuro was arrested, but everything else was honest. She didn't receive the phone call from the unknown figure, but I suspect that she has ideas about the identity of the person who accused Mukuro in the first place. If she had proof, she likely would have opened up about it from the start. She's probably so distracted because she's trying to put those pieces together," Lily explained. 

"I don't think that we're going to be able to get the truth out of her unless she testifies during the trial tomorrow, but... What reason would she have to get up on the stand anyways?" I asked softly. "We're simply going to have to figure out the case without knowing the truth of what she's aware of... I'm hoping that it will go well like that, at the very least. Then again, I suppose that we won't know until we try..."

"For now, I think that our investigation is finished. We have our suspicions about this case, and we're going to be able to talk to Chrysalis and Prosecutor Wood during the trial tomorrow. We should meet up again tomorrow and see if there's anything new that we can press out of them," Lily declared. She straightened to her full height since there was no further need to be quiet, and she gave us a brief wave. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

I waved as Lily left before doing the same for Sky. Detective Umber's strange behavior had certainly left a strange taste in my mouth, but I couldn't quite say for sure what was happening. Even if she simply had suspicions about who the anonymous caller was, why didn't she talk about them? Was there something keeping her quiet? Regardless of if we found out the answers easily, I was determined to figure out what had happened with this case. Mukuro was counting on us all to act in her best interests, and I was going to do just that no matter what got in my way. 

I was going to find out who the culprit was, and Mukuro was going to be freed. That much was a promise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are neat
> 
> -Digital


	38. Turnabout Abduction, Part 8

**September 15**

**Defendant Lobby No. 5**

**9:45 AM**

**Lily Shield**

When I got to the courthouse the following morning, my mind was already stirring with curious inquiries as to what could have been going on with Detective Umber. There weren't any explanations when I knew that I needed one, and I was seriously starting to wonder what could have pushed her to be so secretive. The investigation from the day before implied that she knew something about the person who had hired the victim to go to the school in the first place, and I hated to think about that. Why wasn't she saying anything if she had something in mind?

Victoria and Sky were already there by the time that I had arrived, and I found myself rubbing nervously at the back of my neck as I approached them. "Sorry I'm late," I told them. "You can blame my brother for this. He said that he wanted to talk to me before I left the house."

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Sky questioned. There was something in his eyes that told me that he had already put the pieces together that Robbie's questioning me had something to do with the case. After all, since my brother was on the other side of the courtroom, it was only natural to assume that he was going to talk to me about that. 

"He said that the prosecution is planning on calling Prosecutor Wood to the witness stand first," I replied. "They all agreed that there was something strange going on with the way that she left the scene of the crime when she shouldn't have, and they wanted to ask her about it while the trial was going on. It seems that we're going to be able to find out the truth about who she really is today."

Victoria nodded as she looked down at the floor. "I spent all night trying to come up with theories about what the murder weapon could have been... Well, I guess it was more of just the weapon that was used to break the glass, but that's kind of getting picky given that the glass breaking caused the trophy to fall on the victim's head in the first place," she said. 

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you didn't come up with anything," Sky remarked with a small, forced laugh. "I was trying to find something that would explain what was happening with the murder weapon too, but... I couldn't come up with anything. It seemed like there was always something that simply didn't add up."

"What could possibly be heavy enough to shatter the glass like that and still be portable enough for the culprit to easily move from place to place?" Victoria murmured. She seemed to know that it was the question on everybody's mind, and she let out a sigh before shaking her head. "I just don't get it. There's something going on here, and I don't know what the murder weapon could possibly be."

"If Prosecutor Wood was really involved with the case, then we're just going to have to drag that information out of her," I said firmly. "I think that we could prove everything if we were given the chance to explain what we think was happening... It'll be a bit difficult for us to conclude firmly that she was at the scene of the crime, but I think that we could do it with a bit of pushing. We can always cite Chrysalis' injury as proof that Chrysalis was there, and since they were together, we can shift that into proof that Prosecutor Wood was there."

"It's not going to be easy," Sky remarked with a small laugh. "It's hard for us to show conclusively that she was involved with the case, but there's nothing else that we can do about it. As long as we have an inkling of what's happening, then I'd say that we're doing a good job. It's all that we can really ask for at this point in my opinion given how difficult the case has been for us to put together so far."

"Do you still think that you'll be able to do it?"

I turned upon hearing Mukuro's voice, and a smile appeared on my face. "It's nice to see you, Mukuro," I told her. "Don't worry about this case. We're getting closer to figuring everything out, and I have confidence that we'll be able to find a solution soon."

"Alright," Mukuro murmured, nodding to herself. I saw her swallow nervously as she continued staring at the ground, and I had to admit that I felt bad for her. I knew that all that we could really do to help her was to end the case and show who was responsible, but that was far easier said than done. Still, that didn't mean that I was going to let her lose faith. I was going to show that I was confident in our success, and Mukuro was going to feel the positivity as well. 

"Is there anything that you think we should know before we keep going with the case?" Sky questioned, trying to keep Mukuro's attention off how nervous she was. He had a light smile on his face, and he began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt to give himself something aside from the case to focus on. 

Mukuro paused to think before shaking her head. "There's nothing that I can think of... I'm sure that you'll be able to take care of everything without any issues. You know what you're doing, and I'm going to continue having confidence in you until the very end," she told us. I could tell that there were still a few lingering traces of anxiety, but she was doing her best to keep it hidden. I couldn't tell if it was more for her benefit or ours, but I still wished that she didn't need to hide how anxious she was in the first place. 

"We should go on and get into the courtroom," I suggested, trying to keep her from slipping too deep into her own concern. I reached one hand out to touch at Mukuro's shoulder gently, prompting her to look up and meet my eyes as I continued to speak. "I promise that everything is going to be okay. I know that you're nervous, but you don't need to be. We have this under control."

Mukuro smiled at my words, and I could tell that she had desperately needed the verbal reassurance. She raised one hand to touch at my knuckles, and she smiled in response. "Thank you," she whispered, seemingly unsure of what else she could even say. She let out a light sigh before turning her attention to the doors to the courtroom. "I guess that we should go on and get in there. This case isn't going to solve itself."

I nodded my agreement before pulling away from her and starting to walk towards the courtroom's entrance. There was no way for me to say for sure how this case was going to end given how unpredictable it had been up until this point, but I was determined to make sure that everything was okay. No matter who the culprit was, I was going to show the truth to the world. Mukuro was counting on me, and in a way, I was counting on myself, and I wasn't about to let either one of us, or anyone else, for that matter, down. 

**September 15**

**Courtroom No. 5**

**10:00 AM**

**Lily Shield**

As soon as we arrived in the courtroom, I began to look around to examine my surroundings. The prosecution was on the other end of the room, and they appeared to be ready for what was to come. I could tell that they had a plan for what they were going to be doing first, and I hoped that it would wind up working to our benefit. 

I remembered my conversation that morning with Robbie as I stared at them. He had told me that they were sure that Mukuro hadn't committed the crime, but they weren't sure of how to go about showing the rest of the world that. Still, if Robbie was determined to find out what had happened, I was going to help him out. He seemed to be just as curious as I was, and there was no point to us not working together throughout all of this. 

Judge Frost hit his gavel against the podium before him, and everyone in the courtroom glanced up since he had captured their attention easily. "Court is now in session for the trial of Mukuro Erikson," he announced. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"

I knew what he really meant by that question was 'did the prosecution and defense fully carry out their investigations yesterday?' I nodded in response, figuring that it was true enough even if there were still a few gaps in our theories regarding what happened at the time of the crime. "The defense is ready," I replied. 

"The prosecution is also ready," Prosecutor Cruz declared. There was an expression of strange confidence on his face, and I could tell that he was thinking about everything that he needed to declare in order to declare this case as finished. 

"I take it that you finished your investigation without any issues," Judge Frost implied. He glanced back and forth between the defense and prosecution benches curiously. 

"We did," Prosecutor Burke replied. "We have ideas as to how we wish to start off this segment of the trial as well. If it's alright with you, we would like to call a certain witness to the stand to testify about what happened at the time of the crime."

Judge Frost nodded. "Of course. Please call your witness at this time," he said. He finally decided to set his gavel off to the side as attention shifted fully to the prosecution. 

"The prosecution now calls Niamh Wood to the witness stand," Robbie announced. There was something oddly tense about his expression, and I had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the fact that he and Prosecutor Wood got along rather well. She had worked with him on a few cases, and that had been more than enough to forge a connection between them. Robbie rarely got close with his coworkers in such a way, but because of how young and inexperienced she was, he naturally reached out to her as a way of easing her burdens. The idea that she was somehow involved with this case would naturally sit terribly with him. 

Prosecutor Wood walked up to the stand at the announcement, but I could tell that there was still something off about her. I couldn't quite identify why she was acting so strangely, but she was oddly confident once again. Her boldness from the day before had carried over, and I was really starting to think that there was something going on with her. Regardless of if it was Nevada or not, Prosecutor Wood had changed drastically, and I didn't know how to feel about it all. She had never been this confident before. Normally, she was filled to the brim with unreleased anxiety. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Frost declared. He didn't seem to pick up on the strange glances that Prosecutor Wood was getting. If he did notice, he was simply choosing to not pay attention. 

"Niamh Wood," Prosecutor Wood replied. She was looking down at the ground in front of the witness stand, and I could tell that she was actively pretending to avoid eye contact. Her voice was far rougher than it usually was, and I was seriously starting to think that she had a thousand one things going through her head. "I work at the local prosecutor's office, though I guess I spend more of my time as a student at the high school where all of this happened."

"We have reason to believe that you were at the scene of the crime the day of the murder," Prosecutor Burke began to explain. "You should have been there, at the very least, but you weren't for some reason. If you don't mind, could you please answer our questions as to why you didn't show up to meet with the previous witnesses on the case?"

Prosecutor Wood paused to think about what was being said for a moment before shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to look nonchalant. I could tell that there was still a bit of tension in her body, but she was trying almost desperately to keep it secret. "I guess that I could tell you what happened," she said bluntly. 

"In that case, please begin your testimony at this time," Judge Frost told her. His gaze was kind, but I could tell that he was just as curious as the rest of us were. He watched Prosecutor Wood with caution, and I could tell that he was starting to realize that something was wrong. This strange behavior seemed to go beyond simply being nervous, and even Judge Frost, someone who rarely associated with Prosecutor Wood, was beginning to see it. 

Prosecutor Wood nodded. "Alright. I'll get to it," she responded. She took a deep breath soon afterward before raising her eyes to scan over the courtroom. Her gaze was piercing, as if she was examining every strength and weakness that everyone in the room had. If that wasn't proof of something being wrong, I didn't know what was. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Why I Left ~**

_-"My reasoning for leaving the scene of the crime is really very simple: I forgot about our planned meeting."_

_-"I really didn't see much of a reason to stick around since I didn't realize that anything was supposed to be happening."_

_-"Instead of hanging at the school, I went back to my house and decided to spend my time there."_

_-"It's really that simple. I don't know what else I can really tell you about everything that happened."_

_-"Besides, nothing else weird happened at the time. Can't you just accept my word when I say that I forgot? There isn't anything else to this case, plain and simple."_

As she finished her testimony, I found myself frowning. There was a blatant omission from this testimony, and it was so glaring that it certainly bothered me. I glanced over to Sky and Victoria to see if they had picked up on it. A brief nod from them both said that they had, and I sighed inwardly. Prosecutor Wood truly wasn't doing a great job of hiding what had happened. 

I looked over to the other side of the courtroom next, and I could tell that the three members of the prosecution had picked up on what was wrong as well. Robbie's eyes seemed to invite me to do something more, and I knew that they were counting on me seeing the flaws in Prosecutor Wood's statement. I nodded to myself before looking up to Judge Frost a moment later. 

"Why is she trying to hide the truth from us so clearly?" Sky questioned. "It's so obvious that she's keeping something from us. In fact, we know exactly what it is... She's trying to ensure that we don't ask her about why she was at the scene of the crime, and by extension, she's keeping us away from finding out what happened with Chrysalis. We're simply going to have to show her what happened. She can't escape this as long as we're the ones on the case."

"It's a weak attempt to keep us from talking about the events of the crime," Victoria sighed with a shake of her head. "Though I suppose that saying that isn't going to do anything to help us out of this situation... We're simply going to have to show her just why it's so odd that she would claim nothing happened."

"If she wants to keep it all secret, then that's going to be on her," I said. The way that Prosecutor Wood was blatantly denying clear facts didn't sit well with me. Something was happening with Prosecutor Wood to make her think that lying about it was a better idea than telling the truth, but I had to admit that it didn't sit well with me in the slightest. This didn't seem like something Prosecutor Wood would have done on regular circumstances, and I didn't like it at all. If something was going on with her to sway somebody who was so passionate about the law into lying, then there was something strange going on. I mean, it was already obvious that there was something strange, but I still felt somewhat uncomfortable with it all. 

"Please examine the witness' testimony," Judge Frost declared, quickly bringing an end to the conversation I was sharing with Victoria and Sky. His gaze was intense and curious, and I got the feeling that I knew just what he was looking forward to us doing. He wanted us to be open about the lies in the testimony, and if that was really what he was hoping for, then I was more than happy to go along with it. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Why I Left ~**

_-"My reasoning for leaving the scene of the crime is really very simple: I forgot about our planned meeting."_

_-"I really didn't see much of a reason to stick around since I didn't realize that anything was supposed to be happening."_

_-"Instead of hanging at the school, I went back to my house and decided to spend my time there."_

_-"It's really that simple. I don't know what else I can really tell you about everything that happened."_

_-"Besides, nothing else weird happened at the time. Can't you just accept my word when I say that I forgot? There isn't anything else to this case, plain and simple."_

"Objection!"

"Are you really sure that nothing else happened?" I questioned. "I think that there was one important fact that was very blatantly omitted from your version of events, and it has everything to do with the person that you were found with after you left behind the school the day of the murder."

Prosecutor Wood frowned and tilted her head to the side. "I don't get it," she said, her voice light and detached. I could tell that she was lying and then some about what had happened, but there was luckily something that I could do about that to make things easier for all of us. If she wasn't going to be honest from the start, then I was simply going to have to drag honesty out of her no matter how much she resisted. 

"You were found back at your house after the crime took place. You went there with Chrysalis Starr, a friend of yours," I began to explain. "I have reason to believe that Chrysalis was at the scene of the crime, and by extension, that means that you were there as well."

Prosecutor Wood stared at me with darkened eyes, and she shook her head with a sigh. "I don't understand how me being at my house equates to me being at the scene of the crime," she remarked. There was something about her voice that made her seem like she was desperate to convince the world of this falsehood, not that she would have ever admitted it. 

"Chrysalis was at the scene of the murder," Victoria began to explain. "At the very least, that's what we've come to believe. There was a small amount of blood from an unknown source found next to the body. Conveniently enough, a cut appeared on Chrysalis' face at the time that she would have been at the scene of the crime. It wasn't there before the murder, but it certainly appeared after the fact."

"Chrysalis' presence is certainly something for us to keep in mind," Sky continued. "If Chrysalis was at the scene of the crime, then that could very easily imply that you were there as well. After all, you were together after the body was discovered. You left behind the school to take her back to your home."

"But what does that have to do with me?" Prosecutor Wood asked. There was something unexpectedly confrontational about her voice, and I would have been lying if I said that it didn't bother me. She was trying to keep us from uncovering the truth, but it wasn't going to work. "Just because we were together after the body was discovered doesn't mean that I was there when the murder took place. Maybe I left the school before the crime took place."

"Chrysalis doesn't remember anything about what happened at the time of the murder," I told her. "However, you seem to grow very notably tense when we talk about the events of the crime. If you want my humble opinion, I believe that you do remember what happened when the body was discovered to some degree. It's rather strange... Chrysalis is the one that we can certainly place at the scene of the crime, but you know something about what happened when the murder took place. It seems rather backwards, and if you want my opinion, that certainly implies that you were at the scene of the crime at some point around the time when the victim was killed."

The gallery above began to chatter with excitement, but I didn't allow myself to be distracted by them. Instead, I continued to give my attention to Prosecutor Wood. She was incredibly upset all of a sudden, but she was doing what she could to keep it hidden. Still, I could see the way that her features pinched with upset at the implication that she was at the scene of the crime. 

Judge Frost hit his gavel against the podium in front of him. "Order in the court!" he exclaimed before turning his gaze back to Prosecutor Wood. "Witness, if you were truly at the scene of the crime, you must offer an honest testimony to the court. Regardless of your reasoning for hiding what happened, you need to be truthful."

Prosecutor Wood shoved her hands into her pockets and scoffed. "Listen, okay? This doesn't matter at all," she murmured. "All you need to know is that it's clear that the defendant didn't do it. Then again, we knew that from the very beginning. We're positive that she couldn't have done it because there's so much proof that she couldn't have lashed out at the victim. That should be more than enough for this case to be called here."

"You're rather desperate for us to escape talking about this case," I remarked. "Also, if you don't mind my commenting on this... I have to say that you've been acting strange for quite some time. If you want my opinion, there's something that's not sitting well with you about this case, but you're trying to keep from bringing it up if possible. If there's something about this case that doesn't sit well with you, then it's perfectly fine to talk about. In fact, I believe that it would help us to figure out what happened at the time of the victim's death."

Prosecutor Wood sighed and shook her head. "You're jumping to conclusions. How about you just leave me alone already?" she muttered bitterly. Her gaze had gone dark, and I was more positive than ever that Nevada was somehow involved with all of this. She was so on edge all of a sudden, and the aura that she gave off was completely different to how Prosecutor Wood was normally. There was no way at all to compare the two as being similar, and it bothered me quite a bit. When Prosecutor Wood was bothered by something, she was overcome with anxiety and fear, so this sudden move of bold confidence and distance made it loud and clear that she wasn't the same person that I was used to interacting with both in and out of the courtroom. 

"Witness, I want you to be honest with this court now," Judge Frost announced as he looked down at Prosecutor Wood. "If you were at the scene of the crime, please say so. We need to hear your testimony about what you saw at the time of the murder."

Prosecutor Wood glanced up to him, and there was something about his expression that told her that fighting back wasn't going to have much of a point. She frowned before changing her point of focus back to the floor once again. "So what if I was?" she questioned. I figured that this was the closest we would be getting to a confession of her presence unless we continued pushing, so my mission was clear as could be in my mind.

"We need to hear about what happened at the time of the murder," I told her, pulling back on my previous intensity to watch her with a degree of caution. "But first... If it's alright with you, I would like to once again note your strange behavior."

"I agree," Prosecutor Burke cut in, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "I've been working with you for a long time, and you've never acted this way before. I'm sure that both Prosecutor Shield and Prosecutor Cruz would be more than able to back me up when I say that something has been off about you ever since the murder took place."

Both Robbie and Prosecutor Shield nodded their agreement, and Prosecutor Wood's features suddenly went pale. She looked over to where I was standing with Victoria and Sky, and I could tell that she was putting the pieces together that escape was impossible. She shook her head before finding an empty space on the floor to stare at. "It's just the stress of everything that's been happening," she said. As far as I could tell, she was fully aware of how feeble the excuse was, but she was still doing her best to sell it on the off chance that perhaps she would be able to get away with it. 

"Why would you be so stressed if you weren't at the scene of the crime?" Victoria asked. "I think that you're really starting to struggle with what happened during the murder because you were far closer to the action than you're caring to openly admit. Please be honest with us and say if you were at the scene of the crime."

Prosecutor Wood didn't offer a response, instead choosing to find yet another point of interest on the floor to stare at. She didn't seem to want to even acknowledge that we were there, so I was sure that we were going to have to use something else if we wanted to get through to her. She wasn't in the mood to listen to our previous methods of reasoning, so we would have to figure something else out for ourselves.

"If you want my opinion, you saw something that you weren't supposed to after you found the scene of the crime by accident," Sky announced. "That was when you decided to take Chrysalis away from the victim. You witnessed something that you really should not have been there to see, and it made you think that you had to leave with Chrysalis as soon as possible."

"You suddenly forgetting about what happened involving your friends is suspicious as well," I remarked. "You would expect someone to be able to remember something so important, and yet, you claim that you don't remember anything. There must be a reason that your memories regarding your plans were so forcefully cut off at the time of the murder. Did you see anything that surprised you? Did you ever know in the first place?"

Prosecutor Wood let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "Of course I knew about it!" she cried out. "Why would I not know about a meeting where I was supposed to see other people? I just forgot about it because it slipped my mind. There isn't anything else to it, and you're fooling yourself if you think that something else happened to make me forget about it by force."

"If you really remembered about your plans, then you wouldn't mind telling us who you were supposed to be meeting with, right?" Victoria questioned. "You should be fully aware of the people who you were meant to be seeing the day of the murder, so why don't you simply tell us about who you had made plans with?"

Prosecutor Wood was silent afterwards, and I saw her shoulders go heavy with tension. She chose not to say anything for a long time, and I could tell that this was her way of yielding defeat. She knew that there was no chance for her to win, so she simply wasn't bothering to mount a defense at all. 

"You never knew in the first place, and I have the perfect explanation for why," I told her. "You are not Prosecutor Wood at all. You've been attempting to convince everyone here that your name is Niamh Wood, but that isn't the case in the slightest. There is a rift between your memories and the consciousness of Niamh Wood... After all, you're two different people."

Prosecutor Wood attempted to offer a response, but I held up one hand to keep her from continuing. "I believe that you forgot about the meeting and the people you were meant to be seeing because you weren't ever aware of it in the first place. The primary way for this to be possible involves a certain mental condition that Niamh Wood has... I'm sure that you're already aware of what I'm talking about, yes? After all, that condition is the very reason that you exist." I cleared my throat as a light smile appeared on my lips. "Go on and introduce yourself to the court honestly this time... Nevada."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sleepy oop
> 
> -Digital


	39. Turnabout Abduction, Part 9

**September 15**

**Courtroom No. 5**

**10:45 AM**

**Sky Amaya**

For a while, there was only silence as the court watched 'Prosecutor Wood' carefully. She let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head. "Really can't have anything around here, huh?" she questioned. Her voice was different all of a sudden, being far rougher and deeper than it had been just a moment before. She shoved her hand beneath the hair that was covering her eye before she shoved it away, and she shook her head once again. "You're all getting in the way of this. You really don't know what you're getting into."

I frowned to myself as I watched Nevada fully shift into her regular persona. She was glaring at the ground angrily, though it didn't seem to me that she was mad at any of us in particular. It seemed as if she hated the world at large more at that moment. Nevada crossed her arms before glancing up, and she addressed me, Victoria, and Lily a moment later. "Well? What is it that you want to know?" she inquired, her words still bitter and filled with chained rage. 

"Why did you hide all of this from us?" Prosecutor Burke asked, jumping in before any of us had the chance to respond. "This is complicating everything about the case, and if you had just been honest from the beginning--"

"I have my reasons, okay?!" Nevada suddenly snapped, shooting an angry glare at Prosecutor Burke before managing to compose herself. She seemed more like a caged animal than before, as if stripping away the mask of being Prosecutor Wood had completely changed everything about her. She was no longer anywhere near as comfortable or strong as she once had been, instead falling into something that was nervous and constantly on edge. It was certainly a drastic change, and I have to admit that it caught me by surprise. 

"Why don't you give your honest testimony about what happened at the time of the crime?" Lily asked with a light smile on her face. It was clear to me that she was trying to calm Nevada down enough for us to talk to her. After all, getting confrontational when Nevada was already upset wasn't going to get us anywhere closer to figuring out the truth. We needed her to take a deep breath so that she would actually be willing to say anything about what happened. 

Nevada hesitated for a long moment, staring down at the ground as if she had been filled with the rage of a thousand people. She took in a slow, careful breath, almost as if she was scared that she was going to break something if she wasn't cautious enough. Nevada eventually glanced up, allowing her arms to fall back by her side as she did so. "Sure," she said, though I could tell that it had taken far more energy than it should have to ensure the syllable was calm instead of snappish and angry. 

"Something must have happened to upset her to this degree..." Victoria commented from my side. "I'm not sure what it could have been, but... She's been pushed too far by something bad. If you want my opinion, she isn't even mad at us. There's something else that's got her upset to this extreme degree. We need to make sure that she's honest about what that thing in particular is."

"I remember hearing before that Nevada comes out because of Prosecutor Wood's fear of knives," Lily said, nudging me gently with her elbow to make sure that I was paying attention. "I can't be the only one who thinks that the knife at the scene of the crime, the one that was hidden underneath the victim's body, was what brought her out in the first place, right?"

"The knife was shoved so far underneath the body, and if you want my opinion, Nevada did that on purpose so that none of us would realize that she was the one that was out. After all, without the knife, there would have been no reason for her to swap in. She's been dormant for so long, but the sight of the blade was enough for her to finally step in after being away for ages," Victoria remarked. "She was trying to hide that she was here."

I glanced up to Nevada once again, a frown on my face. I realized that she had removed her glasses while I was distracted with talking with Victoria and Lily. I glanced over to the witness bench and realized that Chrysalis was sitting there despite her claims of not remembering what happened. Her eyes went wide with some sort of realization, though I couldn't say for sure what could have sparked such a reaction. Afterwards, she managed to somewhat control her response by looking down to the ground, but her expression remained unrecognizable and unreadable to me. 

"Do you think it has anything to do with Chrysalis?" Victoria suddenly asked when she realized that I had been staring at our coworker. "After all, Chrysalis was how we were able to connect Nevada to being at the scene of the crime, and for all we know, that's the reason that Nevada has been so stressed this whole time."

"It's possible," Lily murmured in agreement, her eyes closing as she considered the possibilities. "I really don't know for sure what's happening, but... I think that hearing about what Nevada says about the time of the crime is our first step to learning more about what took place at the time of the murder."

"What is it you want to know?" Nevada questioned, and I could tell that she had been listening in on our conversation. There was still something anxious about her, as if she was trying to hide the way that she couldn't stop fidgeting with the hem of her skirt or the edges of her hair. Her constant movement reached a peak when she pulled out the ponytails from the braids that she had been wearing before shaking her head out, allowing her strawberry blonde hair to fall in a curtain around her head. It was slightly curled due to the braids from before, but Nevada didn't seem to mind. She certainly looked different from Prosecutor Wood, and everything about her seemed simultaneously more put-together and more disorganized than her alternate counterpart. 

"What did you see at the time of the crime?" I asked. I got the feeling that she was looking for something a bit more specific, but it was still a start. Besides, the rest of the group could elaborate if they had any better ideas. I wasn't sure of where to start, so I figured it would be for the best to leave it up to them. 

"How did you and Chrysalis find the scene of the crime?" Victoria inquired, her expression kind and her voice conversational. "After all, we figured out that you were there because of her. If she doesn't remember what happened, then maybe you do."

Nevada was quiet for a moment before she shook her head. "I can't tell you... Not right now," she murmured. "It... It isn't the right time." She continued to stare down at the ground, almost as if she thought that it would be able to supply her with the answers she needed when it came to formulating a proper response for us. 

"Right now..." Lily repeated, frowning as she examined the wood of the bench before her. "There has to be a reason that makes this a bad time in particular. If we can figure out what it is, then maybe we can convince her to open up. If she doesn't feel like it's safe, then we'll simply have to convince her that everything is fine, and that will help her to feel a bit more secure."

"Maybe we aren't asking the right questions to get her to open up," Victoria suggested. "We know that the victim was at the school because he was targeting somebody in particular due to the actions of a client that he was working for. If Nevada happens to know something about that client or target, then we can convince her to talk to us through that."

"But we don't know anything about who the client or target could possibly be," I whispered to her. "Detective Umber has been constantly investigating to figure out both, but she's come up short every single time that she got close to finding out anything. I don't know where we would even be able to start with all of this."

Lily paused for a moment before her eyes went wide, and she shook her head a moment later as if she was coming out of a trance. "I think I have an answer," she replied. She shifted her attention to Nevada, her expression carefully crafted to ensure that Nevada didn't wind up angry or otherwise upset with her. "If you don't mind my saying so, witness... I would like to know about the target of the victim."

Nevada looked shocked at first, as if she was going to try and lie her way out of it, but she seemed to realize that it was pointless a moment later, prompting her to let out a small sigh. "She was the reason he was there in the first place. What about it?" she questioned, crossing her arms as she glanced down to the floor. 

Lily smiled, and she placed her hand gently upon the surface of the bench before her. "You said 'she'... That's not exactly the default pronoun that you would use when you didn't know a person's identity. If you didn't know who the target was, you would likely use neutral pronouns. You would have said that 'they were the reason' behind the victim's interference at the school. The change of pronouns makes it seem to me like you know exactly what's going on with the victim and his target," I told her. 

Nevada's expression went tense with anger for a flash of a moment, but she managed to correct it a second later. The courtroom began to chatter, but Judge Frost let out a sigh and hit his gavel against the podium in front of him before it could get too out of hand. "Order in the court!" he exclaimed, prompting everyone to begin to settle down. "Witness, you will tell the court at this time about who the victim's target is and how you became privy to this information."

Nevada was silent once again at his words, as if she was considering if answering would be in her best interests. She let out a sigh before shaking her head. "Listen, okay? It was a slip of the tongue. Nothing happened. Everything's fine," she said, though it sounded to me like she was more trying to convince herself that it was alright than the rest of us. 

Lily picked up on that as well, and she shook her head. "I think that it runs far deeper than that... In fact, I would like to say that you know exactly who the target of the victim was. After all, you did quite a bit to help her out in the aftermath of the crime. Wouldn't everyone here agree that she was incredibly nice to Chrysalis Starr, another witness who just so happens to not remember what happened at the time of the murder?" she questioned. "I believe that your actions the day of the murder involved you and the target, or to be more specific, you and Chrysalis."

Nevada let out a harsh sigh before shaking her head. "Listen, okay? I don't know what you're talking about. I came out by accident. This has nothing to do with the murder. You got the explanation for the damn memory gaps that you were so worried about, and that should be enough, but you still want to push and learn more? I don't get it... Please, just drop the subject already. I feel like we already know that the defendant didn't do it, so just declare her not guilty and let this all go away," she said. 

"You came out by accident after being dormant for months upon months?" I questioned. "If you ask me, that shouldn't have happened. When you add in the concept of the knife being shoved so far underneath the victim's body, it seems clear to me that you appeared because you walked in on something that you shouldn't have at the time of the crime. You saw the knife and switched in as a way of protecting Prosecutor Wood from her fears, and that was what came next."

Nevada glanced over to me, her expression clearly dumbfounded. "Are you trying to imply that I did this?" she questioned, each word crafted slowly and carefully. There was something akin to a scowl in her eyes, and she shook her head. "You have no idea what you're talking about, you know. Why would I want to kill him? Besides, he's huge. Someone like me, a young schoolgirl, wouldn't have stood a chance. Even if I'm stronger than Niamh is, I'm not exactly as muscular or tall as the victim was. How would I have even begun to fight back against somebody like that?"

"We're looking to figure out who shattered the glass at the scene of the crime. The breaking of the glass caused the trophy case to smash, and the shelves broke as a result. That was what caused the trophy to fall on top of the victim's head, killing him soon afterwards. The crime could have very well been an accident. We aren't trying to imply that you killed the victim. We're simply explaining what we believe to have happened at the time of the murder," I assured her, doing my best to appease her anger before it got out of hand. 

Nevada sighed and shook her head. "You're doing a lot here to try and push me as being responsible... I don't think that's a good idea, you know. Just step away from all of this and leave it alone. For the love of all things holy, drop this already. It doesn't matter, and it never has. I switched in for the sake of Niamh. That's all that you need to know. The victim's target... It doesn't matter anymore, okay? Everything is fine at this point, so just... Leave it alone," she muttered, unwilling to meet any of our eyes. 

"If it's alright with everyone here... I have something to say."

I let out a gasp upon hearing that familiar voice, and I glanced over to the witness bench to see that Chrysalis was rising to her feet. Her expression was difficult to read, but I could tell that her eyes were wide and transparent. She swallowed dryly as everyone started staring at her, prompting to begin fidgeting with the black gloves that she always wore. I could tell that she hated the unwanted attention, but she still wasn't doing anything to keep people from staring after her declaration. 

"What is it?" Prosecutor Cruz questioned. His expression was quizzical, and I could tell that Chrysalis interrupting was the last thing he had expected to happen. He watched slowly as Chrysalis made her way up to the witness stand beside Nevada, and his gaze hardened as he saw Nevada shift uncomfortably at her presence. 

"I want to bring up what I know happened the day of the crime," Chrysalis replied. "It isn't much, but... I remember going to the school because I was planning to pick up someone there. She took a while to come out to the car, so I decided to go and investigate because I graduated from the school a few years prior. I was trying to find her when I heard something from behind me, but... That's where it all ends. I don't remember what happened after that, but when I next came to, I was at Nevada's house, and she was there."

"You heard something?" I asked with a tilt of my head. If she heard something, then that could have been the proof that we were looking for that Nevada had been involved somehow. If Nevada was going to keep denying until we had official evidence, then we were simply going to have to pin her down where she wouldn't have a chance to escape. 

Chrysalis nodded. "I didn't remember that until after you started talking about what happened, but... There was a rustling sound from behind me. It all goes black after that, so I can't say what could have caused the gap in my memory, but... When my memory came back, I was at Nevada's house. I was laying down on the couch, and she was looking after me. She wasn't wearing her glasses either, and that seems like proof that it was her rather than Prosecutor Wood. She was here at the time of the murder," she declared. 

Nevada went tense, and she stared down at the ground before shaking her head. "You really don't know what you're doing here," she murmured, and I couldn't help but wonder what she was talking about. I was certainly under the impression that there was something wrong, but I didn't yet have the information needed to figure out what exactly it was. Just what was she trying to hide from us?

I was silent for a moment after that as I tried to figure out what could have happened to make Nevada act so strangely. She seemed to want us all to distance ourselves from the case, and I was positive that there was a reason for it. There had to be logic behind why Chrysalis' memory went blank after she heard something moving behind her. What could have made her fall asleep at the school? It was clear that she didn't simply lose consciousness out of nowhere. Something must have caused this. 

Suddenly, it hit me, and I felt absolutely ridiculous for not figuring this out sooner. My eyes went wide and I pressed my palm against my forehead. "No way..." I murmured before turning to face Lily and Victoria. "Do you remember the chloroform that was found on the victim's body? That could have very easily been used to knock Chrysalis unconscious. Nevada found her from there and decided to take her away because she could tell that something was wrong."

Lily gasped, and she nodded furiously. "You're right! The victim must have used the chloroform on Chrysalis before scratching her with the knife. That would have been about when Nevada walked in, and then she likely faced off against the victim for some reason," she agreed. 

"The victim was going after his target, and said target just so happened to be Chrysalis," Victoria realized. "Nevada walked in on him doing something that he shouldn't have, and that's where everything starts to go away from the plan that the victim had created... This is certainly something strange, that's for sure."

Nevada glared daggers at us from her place behind the witness stand, and I could tell that she was far from being satisfied about the fact that we had managed to figure out the truth behind her encounter with the victim the day of the murder. "You should just leave this alone. I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here," she announced. 

"She isn't denying what we're suggesting," I pointed out. "She knows that she can't deny it anymore, so she isn't even bothering to try. Instead, she's thinking about simply getting us away from finding out more about the case, but... I still don't get what her reasoning could be. We understand now that Chrysalis must have been the target of the victim for some reason or another... I don't know why he would have wanted to go after her, but..."

Lily and Victoria were quiet as I trailed off, and they shared a worried glance with one another that made my stomach churn. I didn't know what their sudden nerves were about, but I had an awful feeling about it all. I kept myself from saying anything about it all though, instead deciding that it would be best to ask them about it when we weren't in such an intense situation. 

"Why would she want to keep us away from the case? That's the real question," Lily suddenly said, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Unless she's trying to keep somebody safe from the truth... Ah! That's exactly what this is!"

I realized what she was implying a moment later, and I nodded my agreement. "You're right... Nevada is probably trying to keep Chrysalis from fully realizing what happened the day of the crime. If she really did walk in on something that she shouldn't have seen, then it's only natural that she would try to shove it aside. If Chrysalis was the victim's target, then Nevada would have probably had an instinct to make sure that nothing bad happened. It's something that most people would have done in her shoes," I told her. 

I glanced up to Nevada a moment later. She had once again gone back to refusing to meet anyone's eyes, instead staring at the floor and examining every little pattern in the ground that would keep her from needing to pay attention to us. Chrysalis was watching her with wide, transparent eyes, and her hand was rubbing up against her cheek where the bandage over her cut could be found. When she realized that Nevada wasn't going to be returning her gaze anytime soon, she backed away from the stand and decided to return to her place on the witness bench. Nevada's shoulders relaxed as soon as she was gone, though I didn't think that she was truly glad to be alone. 

"There's still one thing that you haven't figured out though," Nevada pointed out, her eyes falling upon me. There was something akin to a smirk on her lips, though it didn't reach her gaze in the slightest, making the gesture seem empty and insincere. "If I was really there, then why did the victim die? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm tiny in comparison. Besides, it's not as if I could have destroyed the glass of the trophy case if he was standing in the way. Look at where the body is positioned. He must have been between the trophy case and the killer, so how could I have broken the glass from where I was standing?"

"She's right in saying that we don't know what could have been used to break the glass," I agreed with a light sigh. I still didn't have any ideas as to what she could have potentially used, and if she was challenging us on it as her last line of defense, then she was confident that we wouldn't figure it out anytime soon. "What could a student have used to shatter the glass of a trophy case? What would a teenager be able to carry around without looking suspicious? It would have to still be heavy enough to throw at the glass and destroy it without any issues. It must have been done in a single blow too."

"I mean, the only object that most students really carry around with them at a school is a backpack, but I don't see how that helps us," Victoria remarked, shaking her head. She let out a gasp, and her eyes went wide as she looked over to me. "Maybe that's exactly it! She wouldn't have looked suspicious if she was carrying around a backpack, and I think that if there was enough stuff put inside, it would have been heavy enough to shatter the glass on the display case too!"

Lily nodded, and a grin spread across her features. "You know, Yuri still complains all the time at the agency about having to carry around such a heavy backpack between textbooks and homework. I don't think it would be out of the realm of possibility in the slightest to suggest that Nevada threw her backpack at the glass to break it. She would have had it on her person, and then she could have taken it out of the building without any issues," she explained. 

"The defense has a proposed explanation for what the murder weapon is!" I cried out, and Nevada watched me with a carefully raised eyebrow. She didn't seem to be happy about this in the slightest, but she did her best to bite back her rude comments to keep from looking suspicious. 

"The murder took place at a school, and many students at schools carry around backpacks with their books and such," Lily explained. "I understand that having so many classes in a day can really make the weight stack up quickly, and if there was enough paper put into a bag, it could have been heavy enough to break the glass when thrown with enough force."

Nevada glared at us, but she did her best to correct her anger a moment later. It didn't exactly work, and she was left to stare down bitterly at the ground in front of her feet. "I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered. I could tell that there was more to it than simply being a possibility for her to reject, but she was continuing to deny it an attempt to seem innocent for just a while longer. 

"I believe that I have an idea of what took place at the time of the crime," Lily declared, and she pressed her hand against the defense bench. "If it's alright with you all, I want to explain what I think happened when the victim was killed at the school."

"Go ahead," Prosecutor Cruz told her. Both of his coworkers nodded their agreement, and Judge Frost tilted his head lightly to the side in a display of silent curiosity. 

Lily nodded before taking in a deep breath and starting to talk. "I think that the victim first encountered his target at the scene of the crime, the trophy case area, to be specific. He knocked her unconscious using the chloroform that he had brought with him, but he didn't realize that he wasn't alone until it was too late. Nevada came out as soon as she recognized that the victim had a knife on his person, and she got his attention in the process," she began. 

"Somewhere along the way, Chrysalis wound up being cut on the cheek, most likely through the use of the same knife that was discovered on the victim's person in the first place," I continued. "An argument likely broke out from there, and it ended when Nevada threw her backpack at the glass trophy case. That shattered the barrier on the case, and the shelves collapsed before dropping the trophy onto the victim's head, killing him. Nevada proceeded to hide the knife that had brought her to control in the first place as a way of making it seem as if she wasn't present, and she grabbed Chrysalis before taking her from the crime scene."

"You were trying to hide the truth behind the case because you didn't want the victim's target to remember what had happened. Am I correct?" Lily questioned, picking up where I had left off a moment later. Her eyes narrowed, and I got the feeling that she knew she was correct without even needing to ask for confirmation from Nevada. 

For a long time, Nevada was silent, choosing to stare down at the ground instead of any of us. When she did finally glance up, she shook her head and sighed. "Fine," she grumbled. "You caught me. I did it. But... It wasn't supposed to end this way. He wasn't supposed to die."

"I think I get it," Victoria said next. "You threw your backpack at the victim to distract him so that you could get out of there with Chrysalis, but it wound up breaking the glass and causing the spiral of events that ended with his murder. The backpack was meant to act as a diversion to cover for both of you to get away from him, but it didn't end that way."

"He had a gun and a knife on his person in plain view," I recalled. "That explains why you were so panicked at the time, and it isn't as if anyone can particularly blame you. As soon as you came to control the body, you began to act in the best interests of the people who needed to escape from the victim's grasp."

Nevada nodded slowly. "I don't know what he was planning on doing, but... He made a lot of threats before I finally had enough of listening to him talk. I didn't want him to keep causing problems, so I did what I could to get him to shut up. Maybe he was planning an abduction. I'm not sure. All I know is that he didn't start getting violent or confrontational until he realized that he had been spotted. That's when the cut appeared," she replied with a jerky shrug. "Doesn't matter now though. He's dead, and everything's been solved and taken care of."

I gave a glance over to Chrysalis, and I could see that her eyes had gone wide as she stared at Nevada in confusion and terror. I couldn't tell what exactly had her so unsettled, but I had an awful feeling about the haunted look in her eyes. This was certainly quite a lot to learn about all at once, and I didn't think that anyone could even begin to fault her for being so upset. This case had taken a turn for the unexpected all at once, and Nevada's confession had been sudden and out of nowhere. Everything was moving quickly, and I didn't like it in the slightest. 

At the very least, we knew that Mukuro was innocent. That had to count for something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!
> 
> -Digital


	40. Turnabout Abduction, Part 10

**September 15**

**Courtroom No. 5**

**12:00 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

"It seems to me that we've come to learn the truth about what happened the day of the crime," Prosecutor Shield declared, a frown on his face. "The victim was a criminal who was killed when he attempted to somehow hurt his target, one of the witnesses of this case. The culprit, Nevada, arrived on the scene and broke the glass of the display case by throwing her backpack. As the glass shattered, the shelves the trophies were sitting on collapsed, causing a trophy to fall on the victim's head, killing him instantly and offering a chance for the culprit to escape with the victim's target."

"There are still a few things that I don't understand about this case," I confessed with a shake of my head. "Who could have sent the victim after Chrysalis in the first place? We still haven't found any evidence to point to who would have wanted to wish harm upon her or why. There isn't anything that could show who did this, but if you ask me, that's one of the most important aspects of this case."

"The victim was hired to commit a crime, and judging by the fact that he hadn't been caught until his death, he was rather talented in his field," Prosecutor Cruz muttered. "The one who hired him is a criminal as well for asking somebody to deliberately harm an innocent person, and we need to continue investigating this case until we can figure out who the victim's client was."

"At the very least, we were able to uncover the truth behind the victim's death," Lily announced. "It was an accident caused by the victim resorting to violence, and the actions of the culprit were all out of self-defense and a need to escape from the scene of the crime."

Judge Frost nodded, and he turned his gaze down to where Nevada was standing at the witness stand. "You saved someone's life the day of the murder, and you helped us to catch the victim for his crimes in the process," he commented. He didn't say anything further, but it was clear as could be that he was relieved in a way that Nevada had done what she did. I know for sure that I was. I didn't even want to imagine what could have happened if she hadn't appeared to get Chrysalis out of that awful situation.

Nevada sighed and shook her head. "I did what I had to," she muttered bitterly. "Can I go now? I've served my purpose." There was something odd about her, and I frowned as I watched her carefully. Her tone seemed oddly self-loathing and upset, something I never would have expected from Nevada given how confident and self-assured she was at a first glance. 

"I think that it's time for a verdict to be declared on this case anyways," Prosecutor Burke said. "We know what happened, and the defendant couldn't have killed the victim. We can go on and release her from the detention center since she's no longer the object of our suspicion."

Nevada shuffled away from the witness stand before taking her place on the witness bench soon afterward. Chrysalis followed her, and she continued to watch Nevada with something nervous blossoming in her eyes. She didn't seem to know how to approach talking to Nevada, so she chose to avoid the subject instead. When Nevada glanced her way, Chrysalis stared down at the ground. They were dancing around each other in their own awkwardness, and I had to admit that it was almost hard to watch. 

Mukuro took her place at the witness stand after Nevada and Chrysalis left. There was a smile on her face, and I could tell that she was beyond relieved to have her name cleared at long last. She did her best to hide how giddy she was, but she wasn't doing a splendid job of it. Then again, it wasn't as if any of us could really blame her. This truly was a situation worth celebrating, especially for Mukuro given that she had been the suspect in the first place. 

As I watched her gaze up at Judge Frost longingly, something else hit me, and I couldn't help the frown that appeared on my lips. This case still bothered me, and the fact that we never figured out who sent in the anonymous 'tip' about Mukuro sat strangely in my stomach, almost as if it was a rock that I could never hope to dislodge. It still seemed clear to me that the one who declared Mukuro to be suspicious was somehow involved with the legal system given that their words were trusted so enthusiastically, but I didn't know for sure how they tied in with all that had taken place. 

I looked over to Lily and Sky to see if they shared my concerns. Sky appeared to be worried, but Lily had a smile on her face. I got the feeling that her grin was the only thing keeping her from completely giving in to the depth of her concern though. After all, a lot had happened during this session of the trial, and the truth had not been easy to unravel. At least it was all finished and could be sealed away for the time being. We would hopefully be able to trust the prosecution to track down the person who had hired the victim to go after Chrysalis in the first place. 

Chrysalis was the other problem that I had with this case. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew exactly why the client in question had sent the victim after her, but I didn't want to believe it. I had learned about Chrysalis' work as Oracle the year before, and the whole of the agency at the time was somehow involved with it. Felicity and Sky were free of the truth because they hadn't yet earned the complete trust of Mr. Morix and Chrysalis, but the rest of us were fully aware of why anyone would want to target Chrysalis. 

The idea that somebody had figured out who she was behind the mask was concerning though. It wasn't as if it was easy to simply stumble upon the knowledge that Chrysalis was the one responsible for the Oracle project. In fact, she and Mr. Morix had been going through all sorts of hoops and rings to make sure that nobody found out the truth unless they absolutely had to. Hearing that somebody had figured out on their own terms nearly shattered the agency the year prior due to how important it was to hide what was going on behind closed doors. 

I didn't have the slightest idea who the client could have been, but I had an awful feeling about them. Whoever they were, they were intent on causing countless problems for our agency for some reason or another that I doubted I would ever be able to understand. Then again, I suppose I wasn't meant to fully comprehend what they wanted. They were operating out of the shadows for a reason, and staying secret was undoubtedly their top priority to keep from being caught and tried for their crimes of hiring a professional criminal. 

"Are there any objections from the defense and prosecution?"

I immediately snapped out of my thoughts upon hearing Judge Frost's voice, and I glanced up at him with transparent eyes until I realized that the trial wasn't yet over. I gave Lily and Sky small looks out of the corner of my eye, and I could tell that they were with me in not having any objections regarding the case. 

Lily was the one to verbalize this though, and she shook her head. "The defense has no objections," she announced. I could see Sky's shoulders slump with relief in my peripheral vision, and it was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was glad all of this was finally about to be over. 

"The prosecution doesn't have any objections either," Prosecutor Burke announced, her arms crossed. A dimension of shadow had overtaken her eyes, and I could tell that she was beyond impatient to get the case over with so that she could leave. If I recalled correctly, she was also involved with the Oracle project where the other two on the prosecution were not. It only made sense that she would be the only one antsy to escape the clutches of the courtroom. 

"In that case, I will now announce my verdict," Judge Frost announced, reaching for his gavel before raising it. "This court finds the defendant, Mukuro Erikson, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" He hit the gavel against the podium in front of him, and a sigh of relief pushed its way free of my lips. Finally, this case was over. There were still countless questions that we had left to unravel, but this was a start to locking everything away, and I was more than willing to accept it. 

**September 15**

**Defendant Lobby No. 5**

**12:30 PM**

**Lily Shield**

As soon as we got back out into the defendant lobby, I let out a gigantic heave of sigh before sitting down on the couch before anyone could occupy the space. Victoria let out a small laugh at my dramatic actions before Sky took a seat beside me. There weren't many other people in the area, so I was more than comfortable being as over the top as I pleased. 

There was a lot for me to think about involving this case. I had seen how anxious Victoria was while we were still in the courtroom, and I couldn't help but cringe at the knowledge that I was positive that I knew what she was thinking about. Chrysalis being the victim's target didn't sit well with me at all. I didn't know who could have wanted to kidnap her, if I was being honest. 

Well, that wasn't exactly true. This sort of thing had happened before back when Occisor was still in operation, but they had been out of order for quite some time. Who could have figured out the truth about Chrysalis' identity and then targeted her? I simply didn't know who would have done it since we didn't have any suspects to point the finger at. 

Then there was the matter of the one who had pointed out Mukuro as the culprit. We had learned pretty early on that this was far from being true, but it wasn't as if we could reverse the past. The fact remained that someone had tried to pin Mukuro as the one responsible for this crime, and they had managed to evade our grasp. I was hoping that we would be able to figure out who had left the anonymous tip, but the case had presented us with another method of finding the truth that went in an opposite direction. 

Detective Umber's odd behavior sat strangely with me too, and I couldn't help but wonder what would have sparked her to act so oddly. It wasn't like her in the slightest to be so hesitant and uncertain about the world at large. Even if I hadn't interacted with her much, I was sure as could be that this was out of the ordinary for her, and I hated it more than I could have ever hoped to describe. I just wanted to know what was going on with this case, and yet, the universe kept on preventing me from reaching the answers that I sought. 

There was one thing that this case had told me though, and it happened to be who the culprit was. The one responsible for all of this, Nevada, was leaning against the wall in the defendant lobby when I looked up. Her expression was unreadable, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind. She hadn't asked for any of this to happen. Everything had spiraled out of control after she threw her backpack with just a bit more force than she was intending. She had prevented Chrysalis from being hurt and helped us to discover the truth behind someone who had been committing grand crimes behind an alias for years, but that didn't exactly take the sting or need for contemplation out of her actions. 

Chrysalis walked up to Nevada slowly, and the two girl stared at each other for a long moment, uncertain of what to say to one another. Chrysalis hesitantly reached out towards Nevada, hoping to take her hand, before she retreated and shook her head. Since we were the only ones in the defendant lobby still, I was able to hear her words perfectly even across the room. 

"I... Um... Thank you for everything," she muttered. "I still don't remember the full extent of what happened because of how it all went down, but... I want you to know that I'm grateful for everything you did to help me."

Nevada stared at Chrysalis with wide, flabbergasted eyes before she sighed and shook her head. "It just happened this way. None of it matters," she said softly. "I did what I thought was right. I hate injustice more than anything, and I thought that something could have gone wrong if I didn't act. I don't regret what I did."

Chrysalis was quiet for a moment afterwards before she nodded. "Yeah... I understand," she murmured, clearly uncertain of what else could even be said given the circumstances. "If there's anything that I can do to repay you for the kindness you've granted me, all you need to do is say so. I'm in your debt now."

Nevada's gaze shifted into shock once again before she forced herself to look down at the ground. "I'm not asking for you to pay me back. I know that Niamh cares about you, and... Other people that I care about are the same way. I wouldn't want anyone to be upset."

Chrysalis nodded carefully, but she didn't seem to know how to continue the conversation despite her blatant desperation to say something. "I would love to get to know you better in the future, you know," she finally told Nevada. "The last time that you were around this way, we didn't exactly have much time to talk because of how everything unfolded with Cormous and the attempted attack on the Prosecutor's Office. Then you stopped appearing, so..."

Nevada's surprise at Chrysalis' words was too much for her to even begin to hide, and a blush appeared on her face. I could tell that she was shocked that Chrysalis had asked to get to know her better, and it wasn't as if I could blame her. Nevada had endured a rather lonely existence up until that point as far as I could tell, and Chrysalis reaching out was undoubtedly the last thing that she expected. I found it sweet that they were trying to close the awkward distance that had appeared between them. Who would have ever expected such an unlikely pair to interact this way?

"You're a weird kid, you know that?" Nevada questioned of Chrysalis. I was sure that she was aware of the age difference between them, placing Chrysalis as older than her, but she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. She just continued to look down at Chrysalis with a shake of her head. "I don't think that you should want to get so close to me, and yet, here you are. I was responsible for some pretty nasty stuff, you know."

"Nasty as in saving my life and potentially stopping all of the future crimes that this man may or may not have committed?" Chrysalis questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion. She shook her head and took a step closer to Nevada. "I don't think that's exactly nasty, and if it is, we have very different definitions of the word."

Nevada sighed and looked down at the ground. "I didn't think any of you would want to get close to me," she confessed. "I mean... Look at me. I feel like it should be obvious what had me worried." She shook her head and closed her eyes. 

It dawned on me based on the way that she was talking that I knew exactly why she had retreated into herself the way that she had. She had thought that the rest of the world was going to shun her for what she was, so she didn't bother even attempting to make a connection. That certainly explained her lack of activity within the past year. 

"If you want my opinion, you've more than earned your right to be with the rest of us," Chrysalis told her. "I know that it's your call at the end of the day, but... If you ever find that you want to spend time with anybody, you know where to find me. I'm sure that there are others who agree with me too, and it shouldn't be that hard to find them."

Nevada let out a sigh and glanced down at the ground once again to deliberately escape Chrysalis' probing eyes. "Yeah," she murmured, though I wasn't entirely sure about what she was responding to. Then again, I suppose that was likely part of the point of it all. I didn't push it on account of them not being aware that I was listening in. It wasn't as if I was eavesdropping since they weren't trying to hide their conversation; they just so happened to be the only other people in the defendant lobby, and they were far from being quiet. 

Nevada shook her head a moment later. "I... Uh... I'm going to get Niamh. I bet she's going to be lost as hell when she comes to," she remarked, snorting and rising back to her full height. "She still doesn't know about all of this, though I guess that's kind of the point. We don't want her to be too freaked out by what's going on, yeah? Though I suppose that it's impossible to avoid telling her now. Great. Freakin' beautiful."

Chrysalis looked away from Nevada to keep from embarrassing her, and the other girl closed her eyes slowly in an attempt to distance herself from reality. When her eyes fluttered open once again, there was something far gentler about her, and I could tell that we were seeing Prosecutor Wood for real this time. She rubbed at her eyes and let out a small yawn. "Where in the world am I...?" Prosecutor Wood questioned. When her gaze fell on Chrysalis, she tilted her head to the side. "Chrysalis? Are we at the courthouse? What happened? I could have sworn that we were at the high school... Well, not 'we' exactly, but that's where I was last. I think. I guess not."

"I'll explain it to you a bit more later," Chrysalis told her, an awkward laugh leaving her lips. "How about we go on and head back to your house? There's quite a bit to talk about, if I'm being honest. I'll tell you all that I'm aware of, and there's no reason for you to be completely freaked out about this, but... It's just a lot."

Prosecutor Wood nodded slowly in her direction before walking out of the room. I got the feeling that she hadn't even noticed that I was watching alongside Victoria and Sky. She seemed out of it, so it wasn't as if I could blame her in the slightest. Chrysalis was going to take care of her, I was sure. After a year, perhaps more, of living with Nevada, Prosecutor Wood was going to hear the truth about everything that was going on in her head. This wasn't exactly an optimal way to find out about it, but we couldn't control that, as much as I hated to admit it. 

"It's a shame that we couldn't talk to Chrysalis before she left."

I snapped out of my daze upon hearing Sky's voice, and I glanced over in his direction to see that he was staring at the door where Chrysalis and Nevada had just disappeared. "I was hoping that we would be able to hear it from her personally about why she would have been targeted by the victim and his client," Sky continued to say. 

I nodded faintly to make it seem as if I agreed, doing what I could to keep him from knowing that I was fully aware of why anyone would want to target Chrysalis. Still, me being aware of why this had happened and liking it were two completely different things. I didn't like the idea that somebody outside of the agency could have found out about Chrysalis' endeavors as Oracle and attempted to take her out of the picture. It wasn't as if anyone else that was working in the Oracle project would have betrayed her and exposed her to any unsafe activity. I simply couldn't see that happening given the small circle that was aware of our actions. 

"We just have to trust that everything is being taken care of," Victoria told Sky, a smile on her lips. It almost impressed me how good Victoria, who was normally so anxious and jittery, was at acting when push came to shove. "The prosecution is going to want to investigate this, and I'm sure that a few detectives will get involved with it all as well. After all, they're going to want to prevent any future cases like this one from coming up, and finding out who the victim's client was is the first step to making sure that this incident doesn't repeat."

"We're probably going to hear about it when the victim's client is exposed," I assured Sky. "Since we were so heavily involved with this case, it stands to reason that we would be told the truth as soon as it's brought to light. I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure that everything is in good hands, and we'll be able to learn about it all as soon as possible."

Chrysalis was undoubtedly going to try and investigate this as soon as she had gotten Prosecutor Wood settled in once again too. It was natural that she would try to get into the thick of how someone had managed to find out about her actions, and it was crucial to the safety of those involved with Oracle that she shut down anyone who had the potential to be a threat to what we were trying to do. 

"Hey, you three!"

I glanced up to the doorway upon hearing Mukuro's voice, and I saw that she was waving enthusiastically in our direction. Detective Erikson was standing behind her, his hands shoved into his pockets. There was a smile that I could only describe as being pure relief on his face as he and Mukuro approached us. 

"Hey, Mukuro!" I beamed, immediately pulling myself away from all thoughts and concerns regarding Oracle to give her my full attention. "It's nice to see that you're alright. I take it that you went to talk to your father as soon as the trial ended."

Mukuro nodded in response. "Yeah. He was in the prosecution lobby. Speaking of the prosecution, they've agreed that they're going to keep investigating the person who hired the victim to find Chrysalis. They don't know why anyone would have wanted to target her of all people, but Prosecutor Shield suggested that perhaps it's because there are some people who want to try and get close to your agency due to the cases that you've taken on that have been involved with Oracle," she replied. 

I nodded slowly, pretending that this idea didn't sit terribly with me. Even if it was a convenient excuse to keep the truth from getting out, I still didn't like it. I would have certainly preferred to not have to deal with anything that could have put the agency in jeopardy, but I supposed that it couldn't have been helped. The instant that the victim's client chose violence, we had no choice but to do what was necessary to keep the victim at bay. 

"Thank you for helping Mukuro out of this," Detective Erikson told us, his smile shifting from relief to weariness. "I was working on another case at the time, and it wasn't exactly easy for me to drop everything and focus on helping her out of this bind. I wish that I could have done more, but... It seems to me like everything was taken care of in the end."

"We had it all under control," Victoria assured him with a smile. "We're going to be fine now that Mukuro is freed too. I'm sure that the reasoning behind the victim's actions will come to light soon enough, and then we'll truly be able to lay this case to rest once and for all."

"I take it that Chrysalis already left," Mukuro remarked, glancing around the room before shrugging to herself. "I can't say that I'm surprised. Yuri and James ran into us on our way over here, and they said that they were going to try and catch up with Nevada. I guess that it's still shocking to think about for them. James wasn't aware of it up until this point, so I can only imagine how surprised he was."

"Chrysalis said that she was going to take Prosecutor Wood back home. Nevada retreated once again, but... I think that she's going to be out more frequently from here on out," I told Mukuro. "Chrysalis was able to talk to her, and while I can't be positive quite yet, I think that she was able to get through to Nevada and convince her to stop hiding from the world. Prosecutor Wood is going to have to hear about all of this since there's no way to keep the truth secret, but... I guess that it was bound to come out sooner or later."

"I'll make sure that she stays out of trouble," Detective Erikson assured us. "Mukuro told me about what happened in full, and it certainly seems like this case has more than a few unanswered questions for us to try and find answers for."

"That's putting it lightly," Sky remarked with a nervous chuckle. "I guess that's just how cases like this go. Still, if everyone else has faith that it will work out, I guess that I'm in the same boat."

"For now, we should leave this case behind and try to take a break. I think that we're all deserving of some time off," I told him as a smile spread across my features. "I know that I want to kick my feet up and enjoy myself for a while before the next case shows up."

There was a collection of nods that followed my words, and I forced myself back to my feet. I stretched my arms above my head before allowing my hands to fall back down to my sides. This case had countless unanswered questions still, but I was hoping that we would be able to uncover the truth soon enough. I wasn't sure of who had hired the victim to resort to violence or who had sent in the anonymous incorrect tip about Mukuro being responsible, but I was positive that the answers would come out sooner or later. 

For the time being though, we all deserved to take a deep breath and step away from the courtroom as a whole. I could say for sure that I was looking forward to enjoying a bit of peace before things inevitably went horribly wrong once again. 

Little did I know, I wouldn't have to wait anywhere near as long as I had been hoping. 

**September 15**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Time**

**Unknown Perspective**

She was feeling guilty. 

I could see it in the way that she carried herself. She was constantly looking down at the floor, never wanting to make eye contact with others if she could avoid it. She was far more jittery than usual, and I could hardly believe that I was looking upon the face of the person who I had come to know so well over the years. 

He was the complete opposite. 

He was angry, and I could see it from a mile away. Everything about him was hunched and hidden, as if he was trying to block out the world at large out of fear of what would happen if he dared to let the mask slip for even a second. If anything pushed him too far, he was going to explode, and I didn't want to be around when he inevitably burst and lashed out at whatever was closest. 

He hadn't told us anything, though I suppose that he wouldn't have wanted to be open about something so shameful. If it wasn't for our lack of evidence, I was sure that she would have already voiced her suspicions, but as it stood, we didn't have anything that would back up our claims. Something was happening with him behind closed doors, but the rest of the world wasn't going to find out. There was no way of them knowing if we didn't say anything, but we couldn't say anything until we had evidence. 

I watched him carefully out of the corner of my gaze. He rose to his feet, and the chair beneath him creaked with an agonizing shriek that seemed to mirror his masked frustration. "I'm going to fix things this time," he muttered under his breath, and the bitterness that seeped into his words made me feel almost nauseous. I was never sensitive to the emotions of others, but there was something about him that was downright sickening all of a sudden. This was not what I had expected when I first started to associate with him.

He had let go of everything that had once been admirable about his history and actions. All that remained was the anger, and I had no idea what the target of his rage was going to be. 

**TURNABOUT ABDUCTION**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update before I go eat lunch
> 
> -Digital


	41. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 1

"Excuse me."

_"I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. The agency won't be open for--"_

"You aren't supposed to be here either... At least, not like this."

_"Please leave. We aren't open yet, and we don't accept clients this early in the morning."_

"I know what I came here for, and it isn't for a case."

_"I don't care why you're here. All I ask is that you leave. Right now, you're trespassing, and I have half a mind to call the authorities to make sure that you back off."_

"I dare you to try. You won't get far. I am the one in control here. You are the one who listens to me."

_"Step away right now."_

"Not until you stop causing problems for the people that I care about. You know exactly what you're doing, and if you won't halt this on your own, then I'll simply have to make sure that this is no longer an issue."

_"Leave. You aren't welcome here, and I will call the authorities if you don't--"_

"I told you that I'm the one in charge here! Quiet!"

_"What are you-?!"_

"I warned you, but since you refused to listen, you had to face the consequences of your actions... Absolutely pathetic. Never again will you cause issues for those I care about... As it should be."

_"..."_

**November 20**

**Morix Law Offices**

**8:45 AM**

**Lily Shield**

It was another regular day at the agency, and I was heading into work as one would have expected. This was the last day that I was working for the week, and I was pretty excited to get off. As much as I loved spending time with the crew at the agency, I was more than ready for a vacation that I was planning on taking with my brother and mother. We all needed a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, and I couldn't have asked for a better time. With all that had been happening recently at the agency, I was ready for a chance to kick my feet back and have some fun. 

Ever since the case at the school, there had been an aura of stress around the agency. The culprit behind the victim's attack still hadn't been found. We knew who had caused the domino effect that ended with the victim's death, but the one responsible for all of the chaos in the first place still evaded our grasp. We didn't have the slightest clue as to who could have sent the victim off to cause problems, and the prosecution involved with the case had been digging constantly. 

Then there was Mr. Morix. He had been beyond paranoid in recent times, always wanting Chrysalis to stay where he could see her. I supposed that the cases within the past few months had finally started to get to him, not that I could particularly blame him. I was sure that Robbie would have treated me the same way if something similar had happened with me. I knew how similar the two of them were despite their vastly different temperaments. They were as protective as it got, and trying to convince them to relax was a lost cause. 

I knew that it would be another few hours before Mr. Morix and Chrysalis came into work, so I was left with the task of opening up the agency for the day. I slid my key into the door's lock and walked inside, humming to myself all the way. I was ready to see what the world had to present to us during the day. We hadn't received any larger cases in quite some time, though I thought that was more than fine. After all, we couldn't constantly run without expecting to stumble a time or two, so we needed a chance to step back and let out a sigh of relief. 

I made my way through the entrance of the agency, but I was assaulted by an awful and rotten smell a moment later. I let out a hiss as I clamped my hand over my nose, not caring about how the metal of my keys graced my skin along the way. I didn't know what the hell that smell was, but I was positive that it was absolutely disgusting. 

It was only after I managed to muster the courage to remove my hand that I got a truly strong whiff of what it was that was making the lobby of the agency stink so much. I could tell that I had gone pale without even needing to check my reflection. After all, there was no mistaking that disgusting aroma. 

Blood. 

I glanced around the area hesitantly, unsure of what could have happened for the stench to be so powerful and awful. I was already nervous about what was to come, and I could feel my stomach twist. I was supposed to be the first person at the agency this morning. Nobody else was meant to come by until at least eleven, and since mornings were usually slower, I would be able to get away with being the only one there as everyone else dealt with other miscellaneous business. I didn't understand who would be here so early. Mr. Morix and Chrysalis would be the regular suspects, but they had already told me in advance they were going to be late. 

I found the responsible area in front of the entryway desk, and I felt myself stumble backwards by a few feet as soon as I saw the large puddle of blood. I leaned down to examine it closer, and I cringed upon seeing that it was still wet. This had been a recent incident. There was a lot more blood than I would have expected, and I absolutely hated this. Who could have been hurt? How did anyone even get into the agency at a time like this? 

However, I knew that this wasn't the time to be investigating on my own. I had to call somebody to figure out what was going on. I fumbled through my purse, shoving my keys in haphazardly before my fingers closed around my phone. I yanked it free and pressed down on a few buttons on the screen to bring up the emergency call screen. I could feel my heart starting to beat faster under the influence of adrenaline. No matter how hard I tried to look away from the scene, all I could see was the blood on the floor, and the idea of glancing at anything else seemed too daunting for me to even consider. 

_"What's your emergency?"_

As soon as I heard the voice on the other end, I swallowed dryly, not having noticed how nervous I was until I actually had to open my mouth. Still, I couldn't be caught up in my nerves forever. I had to explain what was happening. I nodded to myself even though I knew that nobody would be able to see. "I-I need to report something..."

**November 20**

**Morix Law Offices**

**11:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

I don't know what I was expecting when I started to approach the agency, but I can promise that the last thing I anticipated was a large crowd of police officers to have surrounded the area. 

I could see the various cars scattered about the parking lot as I got closer, and I did my best to remain calm as I slid into a parking space. My heart was already starting to pound with anxiety, and I scrambled out of the vehicle as quickly as I could manage without tripping over myself. This was not a good sign, though that was obvious from the outset, I suppose. 

As I drew closer, I did my best to see through the crowd of officers that blocked my way into the building. I found that it was impossible to get much closer than I already had though, and I could feel my nerves growing worse with each passing second. Why were they here? What had happened to make them come here in the first place? I already had an awful feeling about all of this. 

"Deirdre!"

I turned upon hearing the familiar voice of Mr. Morix, and I walked over to him slowly. He was leaning against the outside of the building with his arms crossed, and he was watching me with an oddly dull gaze. I hadn't seen him looking this serious in a long time, and it was beyond unsettling for me. Mr. Morix was normally such a warm man, but when he got down to business, it was borderline terrifying. His protective nature was not something to be trifled with, to say the least. 

"What's going on?" I questioned as I walked closer to him, though part of me wondered if I even wanted to know what was happening. For all I knew, this would be something awful that pointed to the agency facing disaster. What if somebody had been hurt? That would certainly explain why there were police cars here. There had definitely been a crime, and all I could do was hope for the best that nothing too awful had taken place. 

"I wish I could tell you," Mr. Morix replied. "I know that it's something bad though. Nobody here will tell me anything. I haven't been able to find anybody that we know either. It's just too chaotic for me to try and track anybody down... Lily was supposed to open the agency this morning, but I haven't been able to get in contact with her since I came here. It's worrying that she suddenly isn't doing anything to reach out to us..."

I felt my throat grow tight with the idea that something could have happened to her. I already had an awful feeling about this. What if she had been hurt somehow? I didn't want to believe it, but given the fact that there were so many people here, it seemed clear that something awful had taken place. 

"I don't know what's going on here, but as soon as I can find someone I trust to give us reliable information, I intend to find out," Mr. Morix said darkly. I could tell that there was something else on his mind, but I didn't know how to go about getting him to talk about it. After all, Mr. Morix was very good whenever it came to hiding things that he wasn't ready to share with the world. It was one reason that he had been such a strong component of the Oracle project since its inception. He was a secretive person by nature whether everyone chose to acknowledge it or not, and I didn't want to press the issue when there was so much happening around us as it was. 

I fell silent as I looked out over the crowd of police officers. I was desperate to hear about what could have happened to cause such an uproar. The fact that Lily wasn't answering any of Mr. Morix's calls was worrying me, and I hoped that nothing bad had happened to her. I didn't know what we would do if she was hurt or something similar. I felt like I was going to be sick just thinking of all the negative outcomes that could reveal themselves to us. 

Normally, I was a rather composed person. I knew how to keep calm when I absolutely had to, but this was far from being something that I was able to control. It came out of nowhere and surprised me in ways that I hadn't anticipated. There had been no way for us to prepare for this, and suddenly needing to cope with it didn't sit well with me in the slightest. 

I could see the crowd start to shift, and I rose to my full height once again when I realized that there was someone moving in our direction. Mr. Morix did the same, his gaze remaining that strange haunted shade all the while. I was desperate to ask him what was going on, but I persuaded myself to keep from saying anything while waiting in the silence. 

Soon afterwards, a pair of figures emerged from the group of police officers. I recognized them immediately as Detective Erikson and Detective Wattson. They both looked rather stoic, though Detective Wattson allowed herself to relax as she caught sight of us. "It's nice to see that some of you are here," she explained. Her eyes remained somewhat tired and weary, and that only made the sickening feeling in my stomach worse. 

"What's happening?" Mr. Morix questioned. "I got here about half an hour to try and figure out what was going on, but nobody has told me anything. I've been trying to get in contact with one of our coworkers for quite some time as well, but she hasn't been answering any of our calls."

"If you're talking about Ms. Shield, we can tell you that she's safe," Detective Erikson started. His words sent a wave of relief crashing through me, but I could tell that there was more to it than simply being sealed away with the knowledge of her safety. "Well... She hasn't been harmed physically if that's what you're worried about. She's been taken into questioning, and there are some here at the scene of the crime who believe that she was responsible for what happened."

"What did happen?" I asked. The way that he was dancing around it made me even more nervous than usual, and I found myself shifting on the spot with anticipation. I didn't understand any of this, and while I was curious about the sudden chain of events, part of me wondered if I wanted to understand in the first place. 

"We don't know," Detective Wattson confessed after a moment of silence. "All we can be sure of is that there was something bad... Ms. Shield walked into the agency to open it for the day, but she found a large pool of blood in the entryway on the floor. She didn't know what happened, so she called the authorities. That's when officers started to show up, and the investigation began after that."

"A large pool of blood?" Mr. Morix echoed, his eyes going wide. "Do you know who it belongs to? Someone must have been attacked, but we need to know who was hurt and why..."

"We don't know that, I'm afraid," Detective Erikson said with a shake of his head. "There was a pool of blood there, and a few small objects were left behind. Still, that's all that we know, and I'm afraid that not much evidence could be found from the scene of the crime. We don't know who the victim is, why they were attacked, or where they could have gone. We can't say if the victim is alive or dead at this point either given the fact that the body, assuming that the victim did die, is gone. There's next to nothing for us to go off, and it's causing quite a few problems for our investigation as we try to get to the bottom of what could have taken place."

"This case is all about a disappearing victim then," I murmured, frowning to myself. "Regardless of if the victim is dead or alive, we need to figure out what happened to them. Surely at least something must have been left behind at the scene of the crime that we could use to identify the person in question."

Detective Erikson and Wattson shared a brief glance before the latter gestured for us to follow her as she started walking towards the building. I already had a sneaking suspicion that I knew what she was going to help us with, and sure enough, I was correct. She and Detective Erikson started to find a way into the building by parting the crowd of officers. It was a crowded operation, but at least it gave us a chance to arrive at our destination. 

There were a few officers in the main lobby when we arrived, but it was far less crowded inside than I would have been expecting. I glanced around the area with a frown on my face, trying not to cringe at the overpowering stench of blood. I almost feared that I was going to be sick if I had to stay in the area for much longer. The air was hot and thick due to the fact that there were far too many people in the lobby, and I couldn't help but wish that we could simply kick out the lingering officers. 

"Here we are," Detective Erikson said, finding a place to stand beside the large pool of blood. He gestured down to it with a sigh. "Like I said, we don't have any ideas as to who could have been hurt, and we don't have any suspects regarding the culprit either. We'll need to continue putting time into all of this before we can find an official answer."

"The officers involved with the case are likely going to try and claim that Ms. Shield was responsible, but we can make sure that somebody from your agency winds up on the defense. I'm sure that would put your mind at ease," Detective Wattson told us. "Feel free to look around to your heart's content. I don't know how much you're going to find, but we trust that you'll be able to figure something out. We'll be over there talking to a few of the officers on duty if you need us." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder to show where she was going to be waiting before taking a step away. Detective Wattson waved before she and Detective Erikson retreated to the location in question. 

I glanced down at the blood on the ground with a frown, trying to pull the pieces together as to how this could have happened. I didn't know how anyone would have even been able to get into the agency. After all, Lily was the one who was meant to open the business that morning, but she was clearly not the one who had been hurt. She had likely discovered the scene, and that was why she was a suspect in the first place. That still left the question of what had happened unanswered, and my curiosity started to eat at me all over again. 

My gaze found the desk behind the splatter of blood. It was surprisingly free of crimson stains, and it looked as if nobody had even touched it. It was so strange to have something that was so normal standing tall and proud next to a giant pool of ruby blood. I couldn't help but shudder at the unsettling sight. 

Mr. Morix didn't seem to mind the blood as much as I would have expected. Instead, he walked past the pool to examine the desk. Everything there looked normal as could be to me, but there was something about it that seemed to strike him as odd. Mr. Morix reached out his hand to the area behind the upper segment of the desk. There were two layers of the piece of furniture; the lower one was where a laptop was often set to manage who came in and out while the upper shelf contained other miscellaneous objects such as a box of tissues and a few leaflets about our agency and what sort of cases it took on regularly. 

Mr. Morix pulled his hand away from the lower shelf, and I saw that he was holding a candle. He examined it with a shaded frown that told me there was something more going on than he was telling me about. He rotated the candle before he set it down, but he didn't return it to its original place. Instead, he picked up a small card that looked like an identifier of some sort. There was a silver necklace beside the card, and a small butterfly charm could be seen on the end of the chain. 

Mr. Morix stared down at both objects, and I saw something dark overcome his vision. He shook his head soon afterwards before he dropped the locket and card into his pocket. He kept his hands pressed firmly into his pockets even after the objects had been positioned properly, and his lips remained tightly sealed. I couldn't tell if he wanted to explain the story behind what they were to me or not. It was too chaotic in the room for us to even hope to have a private conversation, so if we wanted to communicate without anyone listening in, we would have likely had to go outside. 

Still, he didn't seem to want to follow up on it. Mr. Morix gave me a solemn glance as he took a step away from the desk. "I trust you and the others at the agency to handle this. I have other business to take care of. As soon as I have answers for you, I'll tell you what's going on," he explained darkly. His words made it clear that he wouldn't be tolerating objection, not that I would have tried to protest in the first place. He had changed, and I had an awful feeling about whatever was written on that card. 

I watched in stunned silence as Mr. Morix walked out of the building, his hands still firmly pressed into his pockets. I decided to look down to the desk, and I found myself staring at the candle that had caught his attention in the first place. I picked it up cautiously and examined it on all sides, hoping that something notable would stick out to me and offer me with the answers needed to understand Mr. Morix and his cryptic departure a moment prior. 

In all honesty, it was strange that there was a candle in the agency at all. Chrysalis had made it clear a few times that she hated candles, and Mr. Morix wasn't fond of them either. The candle hadn't been burned at all. The plastic seal around the lid had been removed, but aside from that, it hadn't been touched. What was the point of having an unused candle on the desk? I hadn't ever seen it there before, and the clear disdain that Chrysalis and Mr. Morix, the two most prominent figures at the agency, had for candles only made me wonder more what could have motivated them to keep it around. 

I figured that I wouldn't be able to learn much more about the case if all I did was stare at the candle though, so I shifted my attention back to the pool of blood. In all honesty, there really wasn't much to see. I didn't even know what sort of injury could have caused all this since there wasn't a weapon anywhere in sight. I didn't see any bullet holes in the lobby either, so if it was a shooting, the culprit had likely taken the gun with them and made sure the victim absorbed the shot. 

In my eyes, chances were high that the victim was dead. That was what I thought of all this at the very least. After all, we would have heard something if the victim was alive. They would have gone to the hospital and reported what happened, but we hadn't heard anything of the sort. Unless the police had yet to learn about the victim in question, they were likely dead. Then again, there were too questions surrounding the case for me to say for sure, so I wasn't going to jump to any conclusions prematurely. It would be best if we took our time and waited before we could see all of the facts before figuring out what we believed to have happened. 

That reminded me that it seemed as if I was alone on this case. Mr. Morix had been very clear that I was meant to take care of this case with others at the agency, making it seem to me as if he wasn't going to be helping me out with this. I didn't know why he wanted to stay away, but I assumed that it had something to do with the card and necklace that had been hiding near the candle. Given that the crime took place in the agency he owned, one would have expected him to want to learn as much as possible, but it seemed that he had other intentions. I wasn't sure as to why this was, but I wasn't going to press it either. After all, if he wanted space, then I was going to provide it. I didn't want to push him when we were in a stressful enough situation as it was. 

I decided to reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. I sent a quick text to the other members of the agency to see if they would respond, saying that something had happened and that I was going to need help. Felicity immediately asked what had happened, but I didn't explain what I knew right off the bat, knowing that it was only going to confuse and frighten her further. Instead, I asked that she and Sky go to the detention center to see Lily and keep her company. Yuri and Victoria agreed to come meet me at the agency since they were curious about the events that I was referring to. Nobody commented on it, but Chrysalis never answered, and neither did Mr. Morix. 

I allowed myself to put the phone away before I turned my attention back to the crime scene. There really wasn't much here to go off, and I didn't know where to start in figuring out who the culprit could have been. I was sure that somebody would have needed a way to get into the building in the first place, and the keys that all of us agency members had would have been the best way to do that. I was sure that this would be one of the ways that the prosecution attempted to finger Lily as the culprit since she was able to get into the building without rousing any suspicion. Still, I knew that she wouldn't have done anything like this, and I was going to do everything that I could to prove it to everyone else too. 

The lack of a weapon was what bothered me most. Since the crime was so recent, it wasn't as if there was a way for us to know who the victim was based on reports of disappeared people. All that we really had to work off was the pool of blood and the fact that it had taken place in the agency. The identification card found under the candle was something of note as well, but I wasn't going to ask Mr. Morix about it until I could see him in person and press for details. 

I had learned all too well how Mr. Morix functioned two years prior to this case, and I knew that the best way to get him to talk about something was to confront him in person with lots of evidence. The Oracle project had taught him how to be secretive, and if he wanted to dodge a question, he would do it. Mr. Morix was deceptive in his behavior seeming open, relaxed, and laid back at a first glance to hide the truth of how secretive and quiet he truly was. He knew when he wanted to keep something quiet, and the Oracle project had been the example of the hour when I first came to work at the agency. If he was as desperate to keep this quiet as I was thinking he would be, I was going to have to confront him with as much proof that he was involved as I could possibly pull together. 

Until I could find traces of what was happening though, I was going to have to concentrate on investigating the case. I wouldn't be able to go and talk to Lily until after her questioning had finished, and I was willing to bet that she had only been taken into custody a few hours ago. Besides, Felicity and Sky would be more than willing to tell me when she was free to talk if they went to the detention center as they said they were going to. I didn't seem to have time to wait for Lily to be available, so they were going to help me instead. I made a mental note to thank them for their help as soon as I had the chance to do so. 

A sigh left my lips as I gave the rest of the room one final scan. This case was odd in a way that I didn't know how to describe. I mean, the reasons for its strange nature were clear as could be between the missing weapon, missing victim, and unknown identity. Were there even any witnesses aside from Lily that we would be able to receive testimony from? If she was the only one who had seen anything, then we were certainly in trouble because the prosecution would encourage the judge to not trust her. The logic would be that she could lie to get out of the defendant's chair, and without evidence, we wouldn't be able to refute their claims. 

I hoped with everything I had that Yuri and Victoria got there soon. There wasn't anything to do but look around the scene of the crime, which was as bare bones as it got. Maybe they would be able to find something that I was missing out on. I prayed that was the case at the very least. I didn't know if I would be able to find a way out of this unless they were able to point something out that had slipped through the cracks in my initial examination. 

This was going to be an interesting case, to say the least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been so excited for this case it's one of my favorites aaaaaa
> 
> -Digital


	42. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 2

**November 20**

**Morix Law Offices**

**11:30 AM**

**Victoria von Graye**

"What do you think this is about?"

Yuri slid into the seat behind me as I pulled away from her home. She buckled her seatbelt and let out a sigh before digging her phone out of her pocket. She pawed at the screen until she had pulled up the agency's group chat, undoubtedly looking at the messages that had been on everyone's minds all morning. I could see out of the corner of my eye that I was right, not that I was particularly desperate for the confirmation. 

I shrugged and shook my head. "If I could tell you, I would," I told her with a light sigh. "All we can do for now is head down to the agency and see what we can find out. It sounds like Deirdre is already there, and she should be able to catch us up when we arrive."

Yuri nodded, but she still didn't put her phone away. "It looks like Lily has been arrested for this unknown crime... It's not even a question that we're going to be defending her," she concluded. "It's good to see that Deirdre is taking control of everything, especially since Mr. Morix still isn't answering... I wonder if he knows about all of this. If he does, why wouldn't he want to respond?"

"Has Chrysalis answered?" I questioned, but I already had the sneaking suspicion that I knew the answer before Yuri could say anything. Chrysalis and Mr. Morix were as good as two peas in a pod, and if there was something going on with one of them, the other one was going to know about it and react accordingly. That was how they functioned, and I knew better than to call it odd simply because it was how the agency worked as a whole. 

Yuri shook her head. "Not yet," she said, but I could tell that she was doubtful that Chrysalis would ever be answering. I couldn't blame her in the slightest; I knew all too well that Chrysalis was a naturally secretive character, not that I could particularly fault her for being that way. Since she was in charge of the Oracle project, she had a lot on her plate at all times, and it was a risk that she simply couldn't engage with to be open about her personal life with the rest of the world. It still made me feel odd, but I didn't say anything about it openly. 

I started to pull away from Yuri's house, surveying the mirrors on my car to make sure that I wasn't going to collide with anything. I started the familiar drive to the agency, and Yuri remained focused on the conversation with everyone else from her seat beside me. I could tell that she was waiting for Mr. Morix or Chrysalis to say something, anything, but it was clear as could be that they weren't going to be doing such. It was simply a sneaking suspicion that I had, but I figured that I would much rather listen to it than ignore it. After all, it certainly wouldn't have been out of character for the two of them to be too busy to answer when life took a turn for the worst. In fact, it seemed perfectly aligned with past behaviors for them. 

The drive to the agency was agonizing and silent. I kept on glancing over at Yuri when we parked at stoplights and waited for them to shift. Her gaze never moved away from the phone, but the hope in her eyes seemed to diminish a tiny bit with each passing stoplight, almost as if she was losing faith that Mr. Morix and Chrysalis were going to answer her questions. I was willing to believe that they were safe and alright given the fact that Deirdre hadn't hurriedly explained that something had happened to them. She would have mentioned it if one of the core players of the agency was deep in trouble of some kind, but she didn't, so I was inclined to think that everything was fine with them. Well, as fine they could be given the circumstances, but I was going to run with it for the time being. 

As soon as the agency came into view, I saw Yuri drop her phone back into her pocket, and her hand braced itself against the handle to open the car door. Once we slid to a stop, Yuri practically threw off her seatbelt and launched herself to her feet. I couldn't help but chuckle as I powered the car down, dropping my keys into my purse before I got out myself. Yuri sure was enthusiastic about this, but it seemed to be fueled more by nervous energy than anything else. I couldn't particularly blame her, and in fact, it filled me with this strange sense of fear that I wasn't sure of how to describe. I wasn't fond of what was happening, but I was going to try and press on regardless. 

Deirdre came into view as we walked up to the building, and I could see that she was staring down at the ground with a blank expression. There was nothing melancholy about her gaze though, so I was willing to take it as a good thing. She was probably just thinking about her next step to figuring out the rest of the case, and given how uncertain everything was, that was a step above the potential for grief that a crime at the agency left open to us. 

"Hey there, Deirdre!" Yuri chirped, but I could tell that she was trying her best to bury her own anxiety. She didn't seem to be able to stand still, instead rocking side to side between her feet. Her bow swayed rhythmically with the action. "Can you go on and tell us everything that you know about the case? You have no idea how eager we've been to hear what you have to say."

Deirdre immediately snapped out of her daze, and I couldn't help but wonder just how long she had been standing there, waiting for us to arrive. She nodded as soon as she had a grip on what Yuri had asked in the first place. "Of course," she replied. She turned on her heel to walk around the back of the agency, gesturing for us to follow her. I trailed in her footsteps, halfway nervous and halfway eager to hear what she had to say about this mysterious crime at the agency. 

Deirdre glanced around once we were settled at the back side of the agency. I could tell that she was making sure that we were alone, and once she was satisfied, she let out a small sigh. "I can say without a shadow of a doubt that something strange is happening here," she told us, but I could tell that this was an understatement. Everything about her gaze told me that there was something deep and upsetting taking place behind the scenes, and I felt my stomach twist with the potential for nausea. 

"Don't keep us in the dark! Tell us what's going on already!" Yuri cried out. She was practically vibrating on the spot from her excitement and nerves. I couldn't tell which one was more prominent, but I figured that I would figure it out as soon as Deirdre started explaining what had happened. 

Deirdre sighed and nodded. "Of course," she murmured before she cleared her throat. "I can say that there was a pool of blood in the agency's lobby. It was in front of the desk, and it was rather large. Here's where the hard part comes in... We don't know whose blood it is or what could have happened. There aren't any weapons in the area, and the only blood that can be found is in the pool on the floor."

"There's just a blood pool?" I echoed, my eyes going wide. "But that's not possible. There has to be a victim. If there was a lot of blood, then chances are that it was a murder, and you would expect a body to be left behind if there was a victim."

"That's the annoying part," Deirdre explained. "There's no victim at the scene. If the victim is dead, then their body was taken away by the culprit. If the victim is alive, chances are they fled without calling the police for some reason... I don't know why anyone would want to keep from telling the police about something like this, but... There weren't any reports about it until Lily stumbled upon the scene by accident when she was trying to open up the agency for the day."

"I think our first priority should be figuring out how anyone could have gotten into the agency," I suggested. "I mean, we already know that Lily has a key to the building, but there are others who don't have something like that. In fact, all of us have keys, but that's it as far as I'm aware... Can you think of anyone else who would need a key to the agency?"

Yuri nodded a moment later. "I think so," she answered. "There are only three people on this list though... Prosecutor Lin, Prosecutor Burke, and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke all have heavy ties with the agency. If anyone outside of the lawyer group was going to have a key to the building, it would be one of those three. Maybe more than one of them have a key... But that doesn't exactly help us. I don't think that any of them would do something like this."

"You're right there," I agreed with a small nod. "It's something for us to ask Mr. Morix about. I'm sure that he would know all of the people who have keys to the agency. I mean, he's the one in charge of the building, so it only makes sense that he would be the one to ask about this sort of thing."

"That's the second problem with this case," Deirdre frowned, letting out a small sigh. "I don't know how to describe it, but... Something is going on with Mr. Morix. He's been acting strangely all day, and I feel like he knows something about this case. There was a candle on the front desk, and I think there was something near it that got his attention. I would have expected him to want to investigate this case, but he took off nearly as soon as he saw what was hiding underneath the candle. I don't know where he went, but... It must have been pretty important in his eyes."

"A candle?" Yuri questioned doubtfully. "That's weird... I mean, Chrysalis and Mr. Morix have both hated candles for as long as I can remember. Chrysalis thinks that they're painful to deal with sometimes, and she's never wanted to even be in the room with one. I don't know why there would be one sitting on the desk."

"It was unused too... I don't think that I've ever seen a candle on there, much less one that's never been used," Deirdre continued. "He grabbed this small necklace and a card that appeared to be used for identification or something similar. I couldn't say for sure if that was what it's meant to be used for exactly, but... That's what I think it's meant to be, and it's where we're going to have to start."

"Mr. Morix didn't respond to the group messages because something is going on with him," I muttered, glancing down to the ground. I allowed my eyes to slip shut as I tried to figure out what was taking place here. There was something strange going on, but I didn't quite know where to start when it came to investigating it. 

"You know, Mr. Morix hasn't acted this blatantly weird in two years," Yuri commented. I saw her nudge Deirdre with her elbow, and I glanced up to both of them with curiosity festering in my gaze. Two years prior would have been before I started to work at the agency, and if their words were to be believed, something had happened back then to make Mr. Morix shift his behavior. 

"What happened two years ago?" I asked. Something deep in the pit of my stomach told me that I didn't even want to hear about this. I mean, if it was something so serious that they were dancing around the subject rather than embracing their conversation about it, chances were that the outcome had been far from positive. 

"It was the case where we found out more about Oracle," Deirdre elaborated, leaning in to make sure that nobody heard what she was saying. "Something happened to Chrysalis, and she was taken hostage by a group of assassins. Mr. Morix practically shut down and left us to handle one of the biggest cases that the agency had ever taken on. It was a case at Interpol, and that's kind of a big deal."

My eyes practically shot open at their explanation. "I think I remember hearing about that case, actually... It was a huge deal as it was happening," I told them. I decided to stop talking there, but my mind was spinning with a thousand explanations that suddenly made a lot more sense. It wasn't as if Deirdre or Yuri would understand them though, so I was going to simply hold back on what I was starting to figure out. 

"Yeah... We realized that it all had something to do with Oracle, so the two of us and Lily decided to crack down on our investigation into them. We figured out the truth, and we managed to convince Mr. Morix to tell us about it. The rest of the case was pretty tense since we didn't have much room for error," Yuri continued to tell me. "Mr. Morix practically shut himself away from the rest of the world when the stress got to be too much for him to handle."

"He didn't seem quite as stressed or anxious as before, but he certainly started to behave strangely," Deirdre said next. "We're going to have to figure out what happened to make him react so strangely on our own. If he wanted to tell us about it, he would have mentioned it to me when we were talking before you two got here. Instead, he told me to handle this case and then ran off. I think that he's going to take care of whatever business he has that involves the identification card and that necklace."

"That's odd," I murmured, though that didn't even begin to describe what was happening. Mr. Morix suddenly acting so defensive and cagey certainly didn't sit well with me. In fact, it made my stomach twist into an upset knot all over again. If we were going to find the truth behind this case, chances were high that we would have to find out what was bothering him so much in the first place, and that was way easier said than done, as much as I hated to say it. 

"I guess that all we can do for now is try to find the truth behind this case and hope that we'll be able to calm him down from there," Yuri suggested with a loose shrug. I got the feeling that she was trying to convince herself that this was our way out as opposed to me or Deirdre, but I chose not to call her out on it. After all, I could tell that she was far from being the only one who felt uncertain about this peculiar string of events. 

"Don't tell me you three are trying to hide from the crime scene."

I would have been lying if I said that the sudden sound of a voice from me didn't absolutely terrify me at first. I let out a yelp of shock as I pressed one hand against my chest, realizing a bit too late that I had gotten too wrapped up in my conversation with Deirdre and Yuri to bother giving a second thought to my surroundings. Embarrassment burned hot in my cheeks, but I forced myself to turn around and face the ones responsible for my sudden spike in anxiety. 

I could see that there were three people nearby, and I recognized all of them as soon as I saw them. Prosecutor Burke and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke were standing on either side of Anton. I could tell that there was something dark to both of their gazes, but Anton seemed to be blissfully unaware of what had frightened them so much. In fact, he had a shy smile on his face, and he had removed his sunglasses to show off his glowing eyes. We were in the shade of the agency, so I supposed that it wouldn't be necessary for him to keep hiding part of his face. 

"It's nice to see you three," Deirdre said, managing to get a grasp on what was happening far faster than I could. She took a step closer to the trio of newcomers, and I saw her smile in their direction. The action was strained and unfocused, but I still appreciated the effort she was putting in. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded to us, and I could see that his eyes were uncharacteristically sharp. In my limited time knowing Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, I had gotten the impression that he was a bit of a goofball, always sleeping on the job and being kind of hard to pin down. He didn't have the best attention span as far as I was aware. In a way, he reminded me of a house cat, always lounging around and doing things at his own pace regardless of the thoughts of others. I didn't think that I had ever managed to get through a conversation with him without a yawn interrupting his words at some point along the way. 

And yet, he seemed completely different this time. Rather than being a house cat, he appeared to be like a lion who had finally figured out how to strike at his prey. To put it simply, it was absolutely terrifying. I found myself shifting uncomfortably under his gaze, unwilling to admit that he was making me nervous despite how clear it was. It appeared that Mr. Morix was far from being the only one who was acting strange during this case. The odd behavior had spread to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, and that was almost even worse. You would expect an unsettled reaction from Mr. Morix since he's the one who runs the agency, but Chief Prosecutor Bespoke is an outside party who still managed to show signs of being upset. Oh, this was not going to end well. 

"We're going to be the prosecution for this case," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told us. His voice was once again oddly sharp, almost as if he had managed to hide all of his previous signs of exhaustion. He threatened to stare right through my soul if I wasn't careful, and I found myself looking down at the ground in anxiety. This was already showing itself to be a mess, and I wasn't sure of how we were supposed to approach the rest of the case. 

"I see," Deirdre murmured. She seemed to have picked up on the same oddities in his demeanor that I had, but she was doing her best to hide it. Chances were high that she knew his odd behavior was somehow connected to what was happening with Mr. Morix, and it was in our best interests to hold off asking anybody about that until after we had managed to gather evidence about why he was acting so weird all of a sudden. 

"There's blood in the agency's lobby, but nobody knows who it belongs to," Prosecutor Burke remarked. "Cotoli told us about it, and we decided to come running to check it out. He's got other things to take care of though, so I guess that he left it up to you three to take care of. That's a sign of major respect from him, you know. Cotoli doesn't just trust everybody with things like this."

I couldn't help but feel embarrassed at her words. I knew that she was right, but it felt odd to hear it phrased that way. Mr. Morix was incredibly specific when it came to those who he placed his trust in, and Chrysalis was much the same way. I had gotten this impression from them starting from the day that I first met them, and it had never once gone away in the time that I had been working at the agency. The fact that he was trusting us enough to take care of this case while he was doing other things left me flustered, but I wasn't sure of how to articulate that, so I just stood there, my cheeks pink as I tried to keep from making eye contact with anyone. 

"What all do you know about the case?" Yuri questioned. "We aren't aware of that much, but we can at least try to tell you something so that you can help us out. Well... We're going to be aiding one another in the courtroom since that's usually how this sort of thing shakes out. I feel like you three all know that Lily couldn't have done this. There's no way that she would ever want to hurt another person. She can barely use a fly swatter when she's being bothered by a bug."

Prosecutor Burke shared a brief glance with Chief Prosecutor Burke, and I got the feeling that I knew exactly what it was about without needing to ask anyone else. This had something to do with the Oracle project. I was sure of it. I hadn't ever been given much of a reason to believe that Prosecutor Burke or Chief Prosecutor Burke spent much time with Lily, so their primary connection was through the Oracle of the Law. They had been collaborating on the project for the past two years, so it was only natural that they would understand that she was trustworthy even without knowing her well personally. After all, Mr. Morix's trust was a difficult thing to earn, and if Lily had managed to claim it, then she was certainly someone that they were going to have to consider as their ally on all fronts. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke was the one to respond to Yuri's inquiry after a long moment of excruciating silence. He shrugged to himself, the motion jerky and haphazard, before attempting to formulate an answer. "We just know that some blood was found in the agency's lobby. It was enough to make someone think that something awful had taken place, and after having seen how much it was... Yeah, I can certainly understand how somebody could get that impression," he remarked. Once again, he sounded far more attentive than usual, and I found that infinitely more terrifying than the idea of the culprit roaming at large somewhere. 

"The victim is gone though, so we have no idea what we're supposed to be doing with all of this," Prosecutor Burke said next. "We're going to try and figure out where the victim disappeared to. Given the amount of blood that was lost, it's most certainly feasible that the victim is still alive. It's a significant amount, yes, but it wasn't enough to make someone positive of death."

"But if the victim is alive, then why in the world wouldn't they report what happened?" I questioned. When the eyes of the rest of the group fell on me, I stared down at the ground to pretend that I was anywhere else. I didn't mind Deirdre, Yuri, and Anton looking at me, but the other two were a different story, especially with Chief Prosecutor Bespoke acting so out of character and serious. 

"You would expect them to bring it up," Yuri agreed, taking the attention off me immediately. I inwardly thanked her before glancing in her direction. "I mean, this is a serious injury as far as I can tell. Why in the world would anybody want to hide something like this? They'd be able to identify the culprit and keep everyone safe from the culprit's future outbursts."

"We still haven't heard anything of that nature, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen," Prosecutor Burke said. "I mean, this case is still relatively new. It will be a while before the general public is aware of what happened. If you want my opinion, it's for the best that it's being kept relatively quiet as of now. I don't want to get the media involved. You have no idea how ridiculous reporters can get when they think there's a story to be found somewhere, and I would prefer to spare this case that sort of treatment for as long as possible if we can help it."

"We'll check around to see if there's anything that we can find out," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told us. "For all we know, the victim is at the hospital already getting treatment for whatever injury caused all of this blood to get everywhere. We'll just have to see what's going on after we split up and can start investigating other sources of information."

"If the victim isn't there, then that will leave us with the question about what their motives could possibly be for keeping all of this secret," Deirdre commented next. "I mean, we obviously have no evidence as of now that the victim is trying to keep the world at large from finding out about what happened at the time of the crime. If we find reason to believe that this is the case though, then we're going to need to find them and see why they were so desperate to hide this information from the rest of the world in the first place. It's strange in my opinion that anyone would put so much attention to trying to hide the truth about a crime taking place. If they told the right people, they would be granted protection from the one who caused so much harm in the first place."

"We shouldn't go jumping to conclusions about all of this though," Prosecutor Burke reminded her. "For all we know, the victim is dead, and there's nothing that we can do to change that if this is the case. We should just be careful about all of this and not make any rash decisions quite yet. There's got to be evidence out there. We're going to search for witnesses after this discussion of ours is over, and if we can find anyone, we're going to drag them up to the stand no matter what."

"Before we do split up to do our own things, I want to know... Who all has a key to the agency? Do you know of anybody outside of the agency who would have a key aside from the two of you and Prosecutor Lin?" Yuri questioned, glancing back and forth between the two prosecutors in front of us. "We were trying to think about all of that, but we came up short where others with keys are concerned. If there are people who have keys, then we're going to need to find them and start digging. I mean, Lily was the only one who went to the agency that early since she was alone, but she couldn't have done this. We already know that she wouldn't have hurt this unidentified victim."

Prosecutor Burke glanced over to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke. After a long moment, they simply shrugged, seemingly unable to think of anyone who would fit the bill. "Sorry," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke replied. "As much as we would like to help you, it's kind of hard to do that when we're just about as clueless as you are."

"Thank you for helping anyways," Deirdre told them, bowing her head in their direction. "We'll simply have to investigate those who do have keys and see if any of them were perhaps lost recently. That would give the culprit the chance to take dominion over something that they should not have possessed."

Prosecutor Burke shoved one hand into her pocket before she pulled out a small keyring. She dangled it up for us all to see, holding tightly to one key in particular. "This is the key for the agency, and as you can see, I've got mine," she told us before putting the keyring back in its regular place. She nudged at Chief Prosecutor Bespoke to prompt him to show his key in much the same way, and he obliged a moment later. 

I glanced up to Deirdre before nodding. "Thank you for your help. We'll leave you to your investigation now," I told them. I waved as the trio walked away. Anton gave Yuri a wave of his own before he chased after his partners in the investigation. As soon as they rounded the corner, the atmosphere of the area completely changed, and I realized that the heaviness surrounding this case had started to set in all over again. 

"We should start off by learning as much as we can about the keys," Deirdre suggested. I could tell based on the look in Yuri's eyes that she felt much the same way. I didn't have any objections either, so I nodded to Deirdre. We walked out from the back of the building with that said, ready to see what was going to await us in the next segment of our investigation. 

Still, I couldn't shake the lingering feeling that something was wrong. I had no evidence solidly that there was anything strange going on, but I felt weird about all of this. This case was far grander than initially met the eye, and I could simply sense it. I wasn't sure of what it meant, but I knew already that this was going to be a doozy of a trial. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I love this case so much you have no idea
> 
> -Digital


	43. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 3

**November 20**

**Prosecutor's Office**

**1:00 PM**

**Yuri Rinko**

With very little for us to do at the scene of the crime, we decided to change the target of our investigation away from the agency. As far as I could tell, the best time for us to sort out all of the issues with the keys and such was the present, so we decided to turn our sights on the Prosecutor's Office. Both Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Burke had already shown us that they knew where their keys were, and given that Deirdre, Victoria, and I had ours on us too, that left Prosecutor Lin as the next person for us to talk to. After all, we would have the chance to see Felicity, Sky, and Lily as soon as we went to the detention center later in the day. 

We entered the elevator and started our journey upwards to the floor where Prosecutor Lin's individual office could be found. I stared down at the floor, toeing at it absentmindedly as the elevator hummed gently around us. I didn't know where to start with talking to Prosecutor Lin, but we were going to have to figure something out. Plus, she had always been a naturally open person, so chances were that she would be able to tell us what was going on with Mr. Morix. Even though they were different, Prosecutor Lin and Mr. Morix got along rather well, and their connection as siblings always shone through when you looked at them closely enough. 

I could hear laughter coming from Prosecutor Lin's office, and I glanced over to Deirdre and Victoria. The latter shrugged while Deirdre's face was overcome with confusion. I shook my head before turning my attention to the door and raising a hand to knock. I let my fingers drum against the surface of the door in a gentle melody before starting to wait. 

"Come in!" came the cry of Prosecutor Lin from inside, and I curled my fingers around the doorknob before walking inside. Deirdre and Victoria trailed after me, and all three of us took in the sight that waited for us within. 

Prosecutor Lin was sitting on the couch that rested against the wall, and Prosecutor Wood was sitting next to her. The older woman was scrolling through her phone as Prosecutor Wood looked over her shoulder. Upon second examination though, I realized that it wasn't Prosecutor Wood watching her at all. Instead, it was Nevada, and her hair flowed wildly around her shoulders. She laughed at something that appeared on Prosecutor Lin's screen, either not seeing us or choosing to not care. 

Deirdre cleared her throat to earn the attention of them both, and Prosecutor Lin glanced up before sliding her phone back into her pocket. Nevada pouted as the phone disappeared, but she didn't say anything as Prosecutor Wood rose to her feet. "Hey there, you three," she remarked. She stretched her arms above her head before allowing them to fall back to her sides as an easy smile rose to her features. "What brings you here? We weren't expecting visitors."

"We have a few questions about recent events," Deirdre explained hurriedly before shifting her attention to Nevada. "I do have to ask though... Is this Nevada?"

"You bet it is!" Nevada cried out, crossing her arms over her chest. Since I was being given the chance to examine her in full, I could see all the little differences that came with her being the one in control of the body. Her gaze was sharper, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She had removed her glasses as before, and her hair was messy beyond imagination, though she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Her voice was rougher than Prosecutor Wood's was regularly, and her words came out in the lower region of the tonal register than her counterpart's did. 

"Is this okay?" Victoria questioned after brief hesitation. "Last that I heard, Prosecutor Wood hadn't yet been made aware of everything that happened with Nevada... I don't want to frighten her."

Prosecutor Lin shook her head. "Don't worry about that. I've already taken care of telling her, and I've made sure that everything is going to be safe for them both here. Niamh normally works here and does work as a prosecutor, but if Nevada happens to come out, I like her to come to my office. It keeps anyone from getting upset with her acting oddly since not everybody in the office has been made aware of this situation. I think it's for the best that way," she explained. "But the short version is that everything has been resolved. Niamh knows about Nevada, and we have a plan for what to do when Nevada is in control."

"Yeah. We were having lots of fun together," Nevada said, a grin rising to her face once again. "I guess that it doesn't matter much now though... You need something from us, don't you? If there's something on your mind, go on and say it. We don't want to spend any extra time talking."

I could tell that Nevada's bluntness came more from a wish to be to the point rather than being at all rude or harsh, so I chose to not let it bother me. I gave a brief look in the direction of Deirdre and Victoria, waiting for one of them to start the explanation, before I took it upon myself to start talking. "I was just wondering about your key to the agency," I began conversationally. 

"Ah!" Prosecutor Lin exclaimed. She dashed over to her desk and pulled a drawer open. She shoved her hand inside and began to fiddle around, clearly being forced to sift through excessive amounts of unnecessary items. When her fingers finally closed around the key in question, her face broke out into a wide grin, and she pulled the keyring free triumphantly. "Here it is. I don't know why you want to see it, but... I do have it here with me. Why did you ask in the first place? What's going on?"

"A lot is happening right now," Victoria began, letting out a light yet nervous chuckle. "Somebody was attacked at the agency, and we're trying to figure out who could have done it. We've been checking with the people who have keys and making sure that they didn't lose them or anything. After all, if the key was stolen, somebody unexpected would be able to sneak into the agency, and that's the last thing that we want."

"Somebody was attacked..." Prosecutor Lin murmured, clearly trying to come to terms with what had just been said. She considered it for a long moment before shaking her head. "I'm afraid that I can't really help you out there. I don't know anything. I mean, I assume that this happened pretty recently, and I've been here at the Prosecutor's Office since it first opened. Niamh was here with me at first too, but she wound up switching with Nevada, so... She's been accounted for all morning too."

"I hope that you aren't trying to say that I did anything wrong," Nevada cautioned, though there was no malice to her words. Instead, she simply appeared to be pouting as a child did. It was almost strange how different she was behaving compared to the previous trial where I had last seen her. Back then, she had been confrontational and defensive, almost desperate in her wishes to keep everyone at arm's length. It seemed that she had easily slipped into the routine of having others to look after her, and she didn't want to go back after having found such comforts. 

"Of course not," Deirdre assured her. "We were simply coming by to check on the key. I'm afraid that we don't know of any other leads regarding who could have one... The only people who we haven't been able to check with yet are either scheduled to speak to us later or haven't yet responded to our inquiries. There really isn't much that we can do about it at the moment, I'm afraid."

"Why don't you give me the explanation of everything that you know so far?" Prosecutor Lin asked. Her expression had grown oddly tempestuous, and I could tell that she was confused by the way that we were dancing around the subject. 

Nevada sat down on the nearby couch and watched us with intense curiosity. "I like hearing stories," she commented. Once again, I was left completely astounded by how much she had changed in such a short period of time. I knew that it was entirely because of the environment that she had been forced into, but that didn't make it any less jarring. Before, she had been volatile and quick to anger, but I supposed that was because she had been put on the spot. She was trying to defend herself, and people were known to go to desperate measures if they had to in order to stay safe. This was the true Nevada, and it was rather nice to see her when she wasn't under immense pressure. She seemed so normal, a far cry from the anxious, angry girl that I had initially assumed her to be. 

"There was a large amount of blood found at the agency. It wasn't there yesterday, but it had showed up by the time that Lily came to the agency to open it for the day. She was the first one to arrive, so it's something that must have happened this morning before she got to the building. It was so fresh that it likely appeared this morning," Deirdre explained. "That leaves us with a locked room case of sorts. We need to figure out who could have gotten into the building during the period of time in question, and we have to find a way for a culprit to worm their way into the agency."

"Of course, it's easier said than done... After all, the keys that we know about are all accounted for as of now," Victoria went on. "I mean, we still need to ask Felicity, Sky, and Lily about it, but we're going to see them a bit later in the day. Until then, the only ones who we need to talk to are Chrysalis and Mr. Morix, but neither one of them has been responding to our messages... I'm afraid that we wouldn't know where to start as far as talking to them either."

"I don't know where Chrysalis is, and Mr. Morix left the scene of the crime soon after the blood was discovered," Deirdre continued. "He was there before I arrived on the scene, and he left not long after I arrived. He found a small necklace and identification card hiding underneath a candle, and then he left, saying that I should handle the case with the other members of the agency. None of us have heard from him since, and we don't know where to start in talking to him or Chrysalis. She hasn't been answering either."

"It's so weird that there would be a candle there in the first place," I sighed. "I mean, I've known them for a long time. I think that I've been cooperating with Mr. Morix and Chrysalis for about four years now, and they've never liked candles. In fact, Chrysalis has said on multiple occasions that she absolutely hates them. When she sees a candle, she blows it out if she can. I don't know why they would keep something like that in the agency if it so blatantly made her uncomfortable. Mr. Morix listens when something upsets her, so it's not as if he would have a reason to go back on his word..."

When I glanced back to Prosecutor Lin, I could see that her expression had grown rather dark. She looked almost haunted by my words, but I couldn't figure out why. I hadn't been paying close enough attention to see when there was a shift in her disposition, and I prayed that perhaps Deirdre or Victoria had been able to see what had caused her to change so drastically seemingly out of nowhere. 

"Is something wrong?" Nevada questioned, watching Prosecutor Lin nervously. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt, suddenly seeming uncomfortable in the position that she was in. Her gaze refused to meet anybody else's, and I could feel her nerves from a mile away. Once again, the change in her personality caught me by surprise, and I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was still adapting to everything, and this was the last thing that anyone who was trying to fit in with the rest of society needed to deal with. I had to admit that I probably would have felt the same way in her situation. 

Prosecutor Lin snapped out of her trance as soon as she was finished with thinking about whatever had distracted her so much in the first place, and she let out a nervous laugh before shaking her head. "Don't worry about it," she told everyone. She was deliberately dodging the question, and I got the feeling that it was because she didn't have a positive way to respond to Nevada's inquiry. Something was certainly wrong, but she simply didn't want to admit it. 

"Thank you for talking to us about this issue," Deirdre told Prosecutor Lin, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. I could tell that she was trying to hide how suspicious she was though, and I knew that this was going to be our first subject of conversation as soon as we were finished here. 

"I think that I'm going to look into this case a little bit too," Prosecutor Lin said, heading for the door. "Come on, Nevada. We've got a bit of digging to do. I promise that this will be a lot more fun than the paperwork that you were working on before you came in here."

That seemed to be enough to convince Nevada, and she got to her feet soon afterward. She gave me and the other members of my team an anxious glance on the way by, clearly trying to hide how nervous she was about the random shift in personality that Prosecutor Lin had displayed. Still, Nevada didn't stop after she had started walking, and she vanished through the door after her caretaker soon afterwards. 

The trip out of Prosecutor Lin's office was silent and seemed to stretched on forever, and the elevator surrounded us again soon afterwards. The humming sound from before filled the air once again, but I barely noticed it. Instead, I looked over to Deirdre to see that she was lost in silent thought. Victoria was watching Deirdre the same way, and I hoped that this meant that Deirdre had figured out what had earned such a strange reaction from Prosecutor Lin in the first place. She was the most observant out of our little trio by far, so if anybody was going to have this sort of thing figured out, it would be her. 

After we stepped away from the elevator, we made our way to an isolated corner of the bottom floor of the Prosecutor's Office. I watched as Victoria and Deirdre both settled down against the wall, and I kept my gaze locked firmly on Deirdre. I didn't say anything, but I assumed that she would be more than able to figure out what I was trying to ask her for. 

"I noticed the point in the conversation at which Prosecutor Lin's disposition on the case shifted," Deirdre explained after gesturing for us both to lean in so that we could listen without being eavesdropped on. "It was after we brought up the candle. If you ask me, she's just as aware of Mr. Morix and Chrysalis disliking candles as we are, but I somehow think that there's a bit more to it than you would have expected at a first glance."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Victoria admitted. "Something about the way that she changed made it seem as if she was aware of something that we haven't been told about yet... If you want my opinion, I think that it has something to do with why Chrysalis and Mr. Morix have been acting so strangely. They're all siblings, so it only makes sense that they would know the same thing about what's been going on... But I still don't think that we have enough evidence to identify what the cause of all this distress is."

"Not yet..." I agreed with a sigh and a shake of my head. "I don't get it. If there was really something heavy enough to warrant a reaction that was this drastic, you would have expected them to say something about it. As far as I can tell, this is a pretty big deal, but... It's not as if we're able to do anything about it as long as we're in the dark, and they haven't spoken a word of it to us ever since we were first assigned to investigate this case."

"I wish that we knew where Mr. Morix had run off to," Deirdre murmured. "I suppose that all we can do for now is look around elsewhere and hope that we'll be able to find the evidence that we need in order to search for the truth. If we can find out enough, then we can use it to show Mr. Morix, Prosecutor Lin, and Chrysalis that we know something is wrong. That was how we were able to get Mr. Morix to tell us about the Oracle issue two years ago, and I think that it's our best bet for learning about what's going on behind this case too."

"Maybe we should go down to the detention center next," Victoria suggested. "If Lily is out of questioning, she'll be able to explain to us what she saw when she first found the scene of the crime, and I think that's our best bet as far as figuring out what's going on. Maybe she noticed something that was out of place when she was there at first. I mean, I would have expected to hear about something that really stuck out like that, but it wouldn't hurt to ask, especially when we don't have any other options."

"That sounds like a plan to me," I agreed. I could feel something buzz within my pocket, so I frowned to myself before shoving my hand inside. When I pulled it out, my fingers were curled around my phone, and I could see that the screen had lit up from a new notification. Deirdre and Victoria both glanced down to the device to see what could have earned my attention. 

Victoria smiled at the sight of my phone's lit screen. "It looks to me like Felicity and Sky are able to talk with Lily now," she said. "According to this text, she just got out of questioning. I guess that everything is lining up perfectly for our investigation. That's exactly what we need, so we shouldn't hold this off any longer than we have to. It's not as if there's much of anything else for us to do at the moment."

"We can ask about the issue with the keys too," I pointed out. "Felicity and Sky probably have their keys, but if anybody is going to lose something like that, it would probably be Felicity. I feel like we're all aware of how clumsy she can be sometimes."

There were no objections to that, but we were ultimately cut off in our endeavors to head towards the detention center when Deirdre's phone let out a shrill ring. She frowned as she produced the device before pressing the button onscreen to accept a call. "Hello?" Deirdre asked into the speaker. She took a small step away and faced the wall for a little bit of privacy, but that didn't exactly hinder my ability to listen in. Victoria pretended to not pay attention, but I could tell that she was just as curious about all of this as I was. 

"Ah, Chief Prosecutor Bespoke... You really found someone?" Deirdre questioned. I could hear the shock in her voice, and it made me yearn for answers more than ever before. She nodded as she went on. "I understand... We'll be down there as soon as possible. Thank you for the update." Deirdre ended the call before putting her phone away and turning around to face Victoria and me. 

"What was that about?" Victoria asked. I got the feeling that the gears in her head were already beginning to turn based on the look on her face. I wished that I had been blessed with such deductive abilities in all honesty. Instead, I wound up feeling anxious and jittery about what we could have been missing out on. I didn't think that I had enough evidence to put the pieces together about what the call with Chief Prosecutor Bespoke had been about. 

"The prosecution has found a witness to the crime," Deirdre replied. "He said that we should come down now to question her. He didn't say much more than that, but he seemed rather flustered. I think that something happened involving the witness to make him nervous or otherwise upset about the case... I don't know if that's what happened for sure, but it's something to keep in mind for the time being."

"If we have a witness to talk to, then I don't see why we're still standing around here!" I proclaimed with a bold gesture. "Why don't we head on down there and see what this mystery girl of ours has to say? It's a good place for us to start. Felicity and Sky can keep Lily entertained while we wrap up this loose end. Besides, we'll only be crunched for time at the detention center if we go to see her now."

The other two agreed with my proposal, and we immediately made our way to the entrance of the Prosecutor's Office. I couldn't help but wonder what could have been going on with this odd witness that Chief Prosecutor Bespoke had mentioned to Deirdre. He was a rather relaxed person, but given his strange behavior as of late, it wasn't completely out of character for him to suddenly be jittery and nervous. In all honesty though, that just made all of this worse, and I found myself silently desperate to figure out what in the world was going on. 

**November 20**

**Morix Law Offices**

**2:45 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

As soon as we got back to the agency, the first thing that I noticed was that the crowd had thinned out significantly. As a result, the area was far quieter than before, and that made it way easier than it had been to think without needing to retreat to the backside of the building. I let out a small sigh of relief before I started to scan the crowd for signs of the prosecution. 

My gaze finally managed to find Chief Prosecutor Bespoke after I spent a short while looking, and I must admit that I only managed to pinpoint him because of his incredible height. I began to move closer to him, gesturing for Yuri and Victoria to follow me. They did so without hesitation. 

As soon as we slipped into place beside the prosecution, I noticed a girl standing beside Prosecutor Burke. The young woman in question was on the shorter side, seeming to almost disappear into her dark clothing. She wore a black hoodie that almost swallowed her torso, and her legs were covered by baggy sweatpants. Black boots were on her feet, and I could see light brown hair streaming in around either side of her face. The hood of her jacket was up, masking her face from view without issue. I couldn't see much regarding her eyes due to how avoidant she was to meeting my gaze, and I couldn't help but frown at how blatantly nervous she was. Something about her almost felt hollow, almost as if the woman herself was somehow incomplete. That's a weird way of phrasing it, but that's how I feel she can most accurately be described. 

"It's nice to see you three got here in a timely manner," Prosecutor Burke said, crossing her arms over her chest. She gave a brief tilt of the head in the direction of the young woman, and I saw that the girl was having trouble standing still. Her gaze was glassy and transparent, almost as if she was barely able to pay attention to the situation at hand. Her fingers were hidden behind dark gloves, which only really added to the general image of something being almost off about her. 

"Allow us to introduce you to Razi Lesa," Prosecutor Burke went on. "She's our witness for this case, and I get the feeling that you're going to want to talk to her." For a moment, nobody said anything, prompting Prosecutor Burke to nudge the witness gently with her shoulder. Ms. Lesa snapped out of her trance before glancing around in a panic, almost as if she had forgotten where she was. Her eyes finally came into focus, and I saw that she had an intense gaze that almost seemed to pierce right through me. I never would have expected that given how anxious she appeared at a first glance, but I supposed that people had the ability to surprise you. 

"It's nice to meet you," Ms. Lesa said. She broke off the eye contact as soon as she realized I was staring, and I saw a brief flicker around her eyes. However, I didn't have the chance to identify what the cause of the light could have been. Part of me thought that it was perhaps some sort of reflection, though I wasn't sure of the cause. 

Instead, my attention was drawn when Victoria glanced between the prosecution and Ms. Lesa. "We're going to have a few questions to ask her, so... If there's anything else that you three need to get done, feel free to go ahead. I think you know us well enough by now to be sure that we aren't going to cause any problems here," Victoria remarked, letting out a small laugh. 

"We've already finished talking to her anyways. Take your time," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said. There was that strange sharpness to his eyes again, and I had to resist the urge to openly shudder. I didn't like the way that he was acting at all, and I found myself desperate to figure out what the cause of his sudden behavioral shift could have possibly been. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke was the first one to leave, and Prosecutor Burke trailed after him. Anton stayed for a moment longer, staring at Ms. Lesa with a strange sense of curiosity on his features. When he realized that the others had left, he turned on his heel and dashed away after giving us a brief wave. I watched as the trio disappeared into the crowd, leaving me and the rest of my team alone with Ms. Lesa. 

She had dropped her gaze to the ground once again, and she appeared to be studying the concrete intensely enough to break her other focus. It wasn't until after Yuri coughed that Ms. Lesa remembered to glance up, and she blinked her eyes a few times to try and center herself. In all honesty, her unsteadiness and general anxiety made me think that she was exhausted or sleep deprived somehow. That would have certainly explained why she seemed so hollow, as if someone had ripped out her best qualities and left only the empty shell of her body behind. 

"You must have seen something at the time of the crime for you to be summoned here in such a way," I began, knowing that we would have to keep the conversation going if we wanted to ensure that Ms. Lesa didn't lose her focus. It would be best if she kept talking the entire time, as getting her focus back would waste precious time that we couldn't afford to lose. Plus, her focus would undoubtedly offer us better and more accurate information, so we didn't have much of a choice but to keep her entertained. 

Ms. Lesa didn't say anything, instead simply nodding. Her gaze was once again hardened yet hollow, and I couldn't help but wonder what could have been going on in that head of hers. There had to be something bothering her to cause such sudden bouts of inattentiveness, but I couldn't figure out what it was for the life of me. When she looked up at us, she barely seemed to be paying attention, almost as if she was simply going through the motions due to some sense of obligation that I had no way of understanding yet. 

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Yuri questioned. "I mean, I take it that you saw something. You wouldn't be here if you hadn't seen anything notable, so it would be for the best if you simply told us the story from start to finish. I think that it would help us out and get you out of here as soon as possible."

That grabbed Ms. Lesa's attention. "Okay," she replied. Her voice was low and rolling, possessing a smooth sort of roughness that came with years of experience in life. She seemed both young and old at the same time, though I wasn't sure of the cause for this. 

If Ms. Lesa noticed that I was examining her, she let it go when she released a slow, careful sigh. It sounded as if she was trying to keep herself grounded, almost like she feared that she would drift off into the atmosphere if she wasn't careful enough. Once she was finished, she posed the question. "What do you want to know?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update tiiiiime
> 
> -Digital


	44. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 4

**November 20**

**Morix Law Offices**

**3:00 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

"Start from the beginning of what you saw. Every detail that you can tell us will be useful somehow," Victoria said, reaching out to place a hand on Ms. Lesa's shoulder for comfort. The young woman took a step back with something that looked like fear blossoming in her eyes. Victoria pulled her hand back, expression heavy with guilt, before glancing down at the ground. 

It took a moment for Ms. Lesa to start talking after that, and it was only after she had blinked a dozen times that she was able to focus herself completely. "I was passing through the area by chance when I first saw somebody walking through too... It was early in the morning, probably around seven thirty. I don't know for sure... I don't really remember all that well," Ms. Lesa continued. Her voice was still sharp, but it was starting to sound distant and foggy as well, almost as if she existed on the other side of a glass wall that nobody had a way of getting through without immense force and determination. 

"You saw somebody else in the area earlier this morning?" Yuri questioned. "And that early in the morning too... That was way before Lily was supposed to be at the agency to open up for the day. It sounds like the crime probably took place this morning before she got there. Could you describe the person that you saw?"

Ms. Lesa hesitated before nodding slowly and carefully. "I can try... I think it might have been a man. Tall, white hair... I think. I don't remember exactly... Holding a piece of glass... Seemed angry... I don't know," she admitted. I could tell that she was being honest, but I couldn't help but wonder what could have made her so uncertain. It was almost like the details were hiding from her somehow. 

"A man with white hair..." I murmured. That didn't sound like anyone familiar to me. I couldn't remember anyone with white hair aside from Vito being at all significant to the agency. He was tall and generally had an aggressive aura, but he wouldn't have ever lashed out with violence. It simply wasn't in his nature even though he was terrifying at a first glance. 

"He was pale too... Really pale, almost unnaturally so..." Ms. Lesa continued. She was lost in thought for another moment before her eyes slammed back into focus, and she shook her head. "I don't know for sure what he could have wanted, but he followed somebody into the agency... It was a woman with red hair. Short, curly hair... Bright red. You couldn't miss it even if you tried."

That description stuck out to me as well, and I shared a brief glance with Victoria and Yuri as I frowned to myself. I didn't know anybody with short red hair that would want to go to the agency. None of us had hair that came anywhere close to this description, and I couldn't think of anyone with a key who would come close to that either. Prosecutor Burke had dark brown hair, and the same applied to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke. Prosecutor Lin's hair was bright teal, so that didn't fall into line either. 

"The woman with red hair came into the agency?" Victoria questioned. She seemed just as confused as the rest of us, and she shook her head to herself. "I don't think that I know of anyone who could possibly fit that description... None of the people who have keys to the agency have red hair aside from Sky, but... His hair is straight as a stick, and it's pretty clear to me that he's on the masculine side as far as appearances go."

Ms. Lesa nodded. "Yeah... She was wearing a white shirt and a green scarf. She had a key... I think. After she walked inside, the man caught the door before it could shut behind her, and that was when something happened... I don't know what it was though... But when the man came out, he was alone, and the woman was nowhere to be seen. I wish I could tell you more than that, but... That's all I know," she explained. 

"You remember a lot about the woman, but you don't know anything about the man... Is there a particular reason for that?" Yuri inquired. I had to admit that she had taken the words right out of my mouth, though I probably would have phrased them more delicately than she had chosen to. 

Ms. Lesa shook her head. "I-I don't think so... I don't know. I didn't see much, but... I don't remember all that much about what happened before the day of the crime... I suppose that was earlier today, but... I-I just don't know what's going on..." Her voice began to waver, and I could tell that we had inadvertently struck a nerve. 

"What happened? Why don't you remember?" Victoria asked gently. Her eyes were filled with concerned curiosity, and I had to admit that I felt the same way. I didn't know what could have gotten Ms. Lesa so distressed, but I was positive that I didn't like it in the slightest. It was clear that something was wrong here, and I was determined to figure out what it was. 

Ms. Lesa swallowed dryly before sighing. "I have amnesia," she murmured. "I don't know all that much about what happened to me before... Everything that happened after I first woke up is a blur. I do know that I saw a man walk into the agency, and he followed a woman with red hair, but... That's about it. I didn't see anything else, so I can't tell you more than that. I can't even say what I did yesterday. For all I know, Razi Lesa isn't even my real name. It's just what I've been going by until I can figure out who I actually am... This is a lot to hear about all at once, and I don't know what to do about it."

I would have been lying if I said that her her words didn't catch me by surprise. I glanced over to Victoria and Yuri to see that they were both just as shocked as I was. Suddenly, Ms. Lesa's hardened gaze and simultaneous nerves made perfect sense, and I found myself nodding my understanding. She didn't know much about who she had been prior to her memory loss, and as far as I could tell, she didn't have any leads on how she was meant to find the truth about her past either. That would have rattled anyone, and I certainly couldn't have blamed her for being upset over something like this. I undoubtedly would have felt the same. 

"What you have said already is more than enough," I assured her. "Is there anything else that you think we should know about? We don't want to keep you longer than we have to." Ms. Lesa's blatant insecurities had already started to shine through, and the last thing that I wanted to do was rub salt in the wound and make it harder for her to express herself when this was a difficult enough situation as it already was. 

Ms. Lesa paused to think before she shook her head. "I-I don't think so... I guess I'll see you tomorrow in court," she said. When she turned to walk away, I could see fear rising in her gaze again, and she vanished into the crowd a moment later. Something was most certainly wrong, but I didn't even know where to start as far as figuring out what it could have been was concerned. She was trying to pull through a difficult situation, and this wouldn't be an easy thing to handle. Drawing information out of her was going to be hard, and I wasn't sure of how we were meant to pull it off. 

"I think that there's something here that we're missing," Yuri remarked as soon as Ms. Lesa had vanished into the crowd. "I mean, everything that she said... It's not like we have a way of contradicting it, but... If you ask me, there's got to be something that made her so nervous. The description of the man and woman in question is strange to me. It's not like we know anybody who would fit the bill."

"The only person with white hair that I can think of is Prosecutor Cruz, but his skin is pretty tan, so it's not as if he fits the description of having pale skin as well," Victoria commented. "Having only one of the two qualities that Ms. Lesa mentioned won't make him into a suspect, and it's not as if we have any reason to believe that he's connected with this in the first place... As for somebody with red hair, the only one we know with short red hair is Sky. However, he's most certainly not a woman, and his hair isn't curly at all. The description of a white shirt and green scarf wouldn't fit with him either."

"I think it's odd that she remembered so much about the woman while the man's details were so minimal," Yuri said, clearly wondering aloud. "I mean, if she saw them at the same time, you would expect her to remember about as much about one person as she remembered about the other. Instead, we have one really descriptive image of a person that she saw, and the other is as barebones and minimal as it gets. It's not like we can use that sort of thing to figure out who could have done all of this."

"Then there's the matter of neither of those parties having keys. If we don't know who they are, we have no way of figuring out how they could have gotten into the agency. The woman with curly red hair having a key is strange to me, and I can't help but wonder if perhaps there was a way for her to sneak inside without needing one of the keys that we're aware of... Maybe Mr. Morix printed off another one," I told my companions.

"But if Mr. Morix knew who the victim was, why would he run off and leave it for us to figure out? There has to be a reason that he just bolted from the scene of the crime without offering any extra information. It's not like him to just leave us out to dry like that... There has to be some sort of reasoning behind his actions. I'm not saying that I know what it is, but I'm sure that it exists, and we won't be able to figure out what his gamble is until we can find evidence that he was aware of this at all," Victoria murmured. 

"If you ask me, Ms. Lesa's testimony that she saw a woman with red hair enter the agency through use of a key is enough for us to catch his attention. If we say that we heard about that, then we can bring up that he must have given out a key that we aren't aware of. If that's not the case, then we're going to have to find out how an outside party could have possibly gotten their hands on a key to the agency," I pointed out. "It's all going to be in his response. If we can figure out a way to learn what we need to in order to draw this information out of him, then we may be able to figure out who the woman with red hair is."

"Ms. Lesa also said that she didn't see the victim leave the scene of the crime... You know, assuming that the man with white hair was the culprit," Yuri interjected. "Think about it. We never saw the victim in the agency, and we should have. The police would have searched through as much of the building as they possibly could have when doing a search, though I suppose that they would have been locked out of a few areas due to the way that Mr. Morix is so secretive... The point is that nobody is hiding in the agency. That simply wouldn't make sense. The victim must have left at some point, but we don't know when or how that could have been."

"Maybe it was after Ms. Lesa left but before Lily arrived," Victoria suggested. "That would certainly make sense... Plus, if the man with white hair had blood on his person, then Ms. Lesa certainly would have noticed it. The woman must have been the one who was attacked."

"I believe that the victim was the only one to have a key to the agency," I said next. "The man with white hair wouldn't have needed to catch the door to get inside if he had a key, and I somehow doubt that there was another outside party who managed to get their hands on the keys to the agency. In fact, I'm unsure of how even the victim was able to get inside, but I suppose that it can't be helped. We need to take what Ms. Lesa said and try to use it from here on out. It's not as if we have any other leads on who the culprit could have been."

"I bet that the prosecution is trying to track down the man with white hair now," Yuri remarked. "I mean, they already said that they were finished talking with Ms. Lesa by the time that we arrived, so it would only make sense that they were heading out to see if they could figure out more about what she had told them."

"For now, I think that our best option is to go and talk to Lily, Felicity, and Sky. If there really was an issue with the keys, then Felicity and Sky may know something. If one of them lost a key, then we're going to have an explanation for how the woman with red hair got into the agency. If not, then we've got another round of investigating ahead of us," I suggested. 

"You're right... I think that coming to talk to Ms. Lesa has only made the key thing an even larger issue than before, and I didn't even think that was possible," Yuri commented. She let out a small laugh at her words before realizing that neither myself nor Victoria was giggling along with her. "Tough room. Let's go."

I nodded and started to walk around the agency, questions swirling in my mind about Ms. Lesa. I couldn't help but wonder who she could have possibly been. If Razi Lesa wasn't her real name, then just who was she? How was she connected to this case, and how had she lost her memory? I was sure that these answers would come with time, but until that moment arrived, I would be left to deal with the consequences of my own curiosity, and I found my impatience rising more and more with each passing moment. 

**November 20**

**Detention Center**

**4:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

I could hear the distant echo of laughter as I made my way into the detention center's visiting area. I smiled when I recognized the voice in question as Lily. She sounded weary, but I got the feeling that she was enjoying herself. In other words, Felicity and Sky were already there and likely working hard to accomplish the objective that they had been given to talk to her and cheer her up. I glanced over to Yuri and Deirdre, seeing that they were just as happy as I was to hear such gentle and cheerful sounds. 

I walked into the room and held the door open for my companions. Sure enough, I could see Felicity and Sky sitting in chairs on the near side of the glass while Lily was on the other end. She was laughing, and I could tell that she had been crying but had moved past her woes. She rubbed at her eyes, and I realized that perhaps her tears had come from laughter given the maniacal look on Felicity's face. Sky seemed ready to combust out of pure embarrassment, and none of them noticed us at first. 

"Hey!" Lily finally exclaimed after she had managed to look through the fog of glassiness that her tears had left behind. She waved enthusiastically and gestured to the chairs that were pushed up against the nearby wall. "You should go on and sit down. I think that we should talk about the case, at least as much as we know about it. I mean, that isn't precisely very much, but... It's still a good place for us to start."

None of us objected as we slid our chairs over to the spot that Lily had gestured to. I sat off to Felicity's left while Deirdre and Yuri took a place on Sky's right. We were in a long row, but I didn't particularly mind. There wasn't much space for all five of us in front of the glass, but we made it work anyways, and none of us wound up having to back away for the sake of added room. 

"We have a few questions for you all if that's okay," Deirdre began, getting down to business quickly just as always. "I want to know what happened when you first stumbled upon the scene of the crime, Lily. Any details that you can tell us will help."

Lily hesitated at first before shrugging. "In all honesty, I really don't know what to tell you. I arrived at the agency this morning with plans of opening up for the day, but... It didn't exactly wind up going that way. Instead, I was left to stand over the pool of blood that had been left behind by our unknown victim. I called the police to report it, but that didn't exactly end well for me. I mean, I'm pretty sure that you can see that given the fact that I'm on this side of the glass while you all are over there... The point that I'm trying to make is that I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were no people nearby, and there weren't any traces left behind that I could see to say who the victim was," she explained. 

I frowned at her words, though I would have been lying if I said that this wasn't to be expected. I should have known that this was going to happen given the details that we were already aware of. It certainly seemed to fit in place with the details that we had heard from Ms. Lesa earlier on in the day, but that didn't entirely work in our favor. Lily having not seen anything left us only with the vague clues that had been left behind by Ms. Lesa's prior testimony, and I wasn't sure if that was going to be enough to round out everything that we had yet to figure out. We were certainly going to need a few extra details before the truth made itself apparent. 

"It sounds to us like the crime took place earlier in the morning," Deirdre said next. "We heard from a witness who said that the culprit was likely a man with white hair while the victim seemed to be a woman with red hair. I'm afraid that we don't have many details beyond that, and we don't know for sure how the woman could have gotten into the agency in the first place. According to the witness, the victim had a key that she used to get inside, but we don't have a reason to believe that Mr. Morix gave her a key in the first place. None of us know anybody who would fit the description that the witness gave us, so we're left at a loss for what to do next."

"I agree that it is all rather odd..." Lily murmured, shifting back and forth in her seat uncomfortably. "I don't know what could have happened. It's not as if there was anything weird going on last night. I just walked in and then it was all there on the floor. The victim and killer being people that we don't know only adds another layer of mystery to all of this, and I really don't think that's what we need right now. Pardon me for being a bit critical, but that seems to be a bit too much on top of everything that we're already putting up with."

"You're telling me," Yuri snorted with a shake of her head. "But that doesn't matter right now. For the time being, we want to hear about all of your keys to the agency. I assume that you haven't lost them or anything, but we need to make sure that every single key is accounted for before we start to jump to conclusions about who this woman with red hair could have been. If you have your keys now, then it's easy to say that you probably had them this morning when the crime took place. After all, it's not as if any of you guys would have been out and about at the early hour that the witness described to us when she said the crime likely took place..."

Felicity spent a moment messing with her pockets before she pulled out her key, a wide smile on her face. "I still have mine!" she cried out. "I know that I'm a bit clumsy when it comes to losing things like this, but I still know where it is, so I don't know how that woman could have gotten into the agency. I know that Sky has his too."

Just to prove Felicity's words, Sky pulled out his own key and dangled it in front of his face before putting it back away. "You have no idea how easy it is for Felicity to lose things... It's like she has no way of remembering where objects are when they leave her line of sight. Plus, her room is an absolute mess, so it's pretty easy for just about anything to wind up buried under the giant stack of stuff that she has in there."

Felicity stuck her tongue out at him before pouting. "It might look like a mess to you, but I'll have you know that I know exactly where everything is. It's an organized sense of chaos that I'm able to understand perfectly well, Sky. You don't want to believe that there are other ways of going about life aside from being constantly tidy, but it's true," she declared. 

Sky opened his mouth to speak before deciding that the impending argument wasn't worth it, so he shook his head and glanced over to Lily. "I assume that you know where your key is, Lily. I mean, you would have to know where it is if you were going to get into the agency this morning, and I somehow doubt that you managed to lose it between then and now," he told her. 

"I didn't lose it, but it was taken in by the police after I was arrested," Lily sighed. "I wish I had proof, but I must have had a way to get into the building, so you're just going to have to take that as fact for the time being. I know that it isn't exactly convenient, but the police aren't exactly mindful of that sort of thing."

"We trust you," I assured her before looking down at my lap in confusion. I really didn't understand what all of this could have meant. If Lily, Sky, and Felicity all still had their keys, then what did that mean for the woman with red hair? It wasn't as if she could have gotten into the agency on her own, and yet, she seemed to do so regardless. It was all a mystery to me. She must have had a key, but where could it have come from?

"The only people that we haven't checked with yet are Mr. Morix and Chrysalis," Yuri suddenly said, snapping me out of my daze. "Then again, I kind of doubt that they would be the ones to lose their keys... Those two are so organized and methodical that it's almost kind of ridiculous. Then again, I suppose that they are the ones who are in charge of running the agency, so it only makes sense that they would know what they're doing most of the time. If they weren't sure of how to keep things managed, I would be kind of worried."

"I agree that it's unlikely that they would lose their keys, but... I still don't think that we should count it out quite yet," Deirdre told her. "After all, it's not as if anybody else has shown signs of having issues keeping track of their keys. Those two are the only options that we have left, and as soon as we get the chance to catch up with them, we're going to need to at least ask. Posing the question won't hurt, and then we can let them get back to whatever business they're currently up to."

"Just for the sake of clarification, neither one of them has come by here," Sky remarked. "I don't know what could be happening with them, but... I'm sure that you've realized that they haven't been messaging the group conversation at all today either. I don't know why they've been avoiding us, but they haven't been just leaving you all out of the loop. We're just as confused as you are, and I wish that we had an explanation to show why they're not talking to us right now."

"There's got to be something going on that we aren't aware of, but it's not as if we can really get them to talk about it without evidence," Deirdre said, and her eyes took on an unexpected dimension of shadow that I knew had to do with her previous experiences with the secrets that Mr. Morix and Chrysalis held. "We can think about that when we next cross paths with them. For the time being, I believe that we're going to try and prioritize the search for the man and woman that walked into the agency early in the morning at the time of the crime."

"The witness never saw the victim leave the building," I murmured. "She said that she saw the culprit depart, but the victim is a different story, and there's not really an explanation for that. It's unfortunate, but I think that we're going to have to figure out that whole issue a bit later."

"Before we finish things off here, I think that I have one last question for you," Yuri declared, shifting her attention to Lily. "I have to ask... Did you see anything suspicious at the scene of the crime? I mean specifically the candle that was found on the desk. There was something near it, and that was what made Mr. Morix act so strangely in the first place, but we don't know what could be going on there."

"We're going to figure that out eventually if you don't think that you saw anything, but we'll keep it in mind regardless," Deirdre assured her. "There's no need to panic if you don't remember anything, but we'd certainly find any information that you have to give us useful."

Lily hesitated before shaking her head. "I didn't even see the candle that you're talking about... It must have been on the lower portion of the front desk. I was too panicked to bother looking around the area in detail, so I'm just going to trust you when you say that you saw something there," she told us, shrugging loosely with guilt painted into her features. "I wish there was more I could do to help, but... I don't know anything else beyond that."

"It's okay," Deirdre told her. "We're going to figure out what's happening no matter what happens. If we have to track down Mr. Morix and force him to talk to us, then we'll find a way to work that out. For the time being, we're probably going to leave. We don't want to bother you for any longer than we already have, and the visiting hours are going to be ending soon."

Lily sagged at Deirdre's words, likely because she hated the idea of being alone. "Okay..." she murmured before glancing back up. "I'll see you all tomorrow. I'm sure that you'll be able to figure out what we need to know in order to find the truth behind this case, but until then, I'll just be waiting here. I mean, it's not as if there's anything else for me to do. I can't leave the detention center, so even if I wanted to do something else, I don't have that option."

I gave her a small laugh in an attempt to help her to feel better as I rose to my feet. "We'll do everything we can to show that you didn't do this. As soon as we find other details, we're going to expose them. That much is a promise," I assured her. Lily smiled in response, and she waved as I began to slide my chair back against the wall. I returned the gesture, and I could tell that everyone else was doing the same. 

In the minutes that followed, we all left behind the detention center to head our separate ways for the day. We weren't sure of what we were going to be doing in order to prove that Lily was innocent, but we had to find a way to show that she didn't do this. The man with the white hair was our biggest mystery, and I wished that we had even the smallest lead as to who he could have been. For the time being though, all we could do was wait, and I absolutely hated it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!
> 
> -Digital


	45. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 5

**November 21**

**Defendant Lobby No. 6**

**9:30 AM**

**Lily Shield**

The next morning brought with it all sorts of challenges, though I supposed in hindsight that I really shouldn't have been surprised. It wasn't as if the courthouse was going to treat me with any sort of dignity given the position I was in. It was unfortunate, but I couldn't really do much of anything about it. All I could do was rise to my feet and make my way down there in silence. 

The drive to the courthouse was as boring as you would expect, and all I did was stare out the window and watch as the world rolled by mindlessly. Everything seemed to blur together, and I couldn't help but wonder and wish for when all of this would be over. I was desperate to talk to the defense team for the case, figuring that perhaps they would be able to offer me some sort of remedy from the aggravation of the night before. I needed a break from all of this, to say the least. 

When I arrived, Deirdre, Yuri, and Victoria were already there. They were sitting on the couch in the defendant lobby, and they seemed to be talking about something important in hushed whispers. I didn't see any signs of Felicity or Sky, though that wasn't particularly surprising. I was sure that they were going to be coming to see the trial, but given how Felicity didn't seem to have any perception of the world outside of her own sense of scheduling, it was undoubtably fact that they were going to be late. 

"What are you three talking about?" I questioned of the trio of women as I approached them. I tried to keep from fidgeting too much in my anxiety, though that was far easier said than done. I wanted to do something, anything, to stop thinking about all of this, but I didn't really have a choice. The waiting was agonizing, and I wanted to know what was happening as soon as possible. 

"I'll give you one guess," Yuri said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "They just so happen to apparently hate talking to us about important issues, and it's incredibly frustrating to put up with." I looked down and saw that she had her phone in one hand, a clear sign that she had been waiting for another text from Mr. Morix or Chrysalis. I got the feeling that, based on the way she was talking, she hadn't heard anything. I hadn't been anticipating that they would respond, but it was still unfortunate given that they had been so distant ever since the case started. 

"I'm sure that they're going to reply to us soon enough," Victoria told Yuri, placing a gentle hand of reassurance on the other girl's shoulder. Yuri glanced up at her before sighing, and Victoria maintained her nervous grin in an attempt to pacify the dramatic rage that Yuri was placing on full display. 

"We don't know what to do about keys right now, but I think that it's pretty safe to say that we have no idea how the woman with red hair could have gotten into the agency," Deirdre explained once she was sure that Yuri wasn't going to be interrupting her. "It's something for us to consider as we go through this case. If it's true that the woman with red hair didn't take a key from anyone, then that means that she must have been given one on her own. That makes it all the more crucial that we talk to Mr. Morix and Chrysalis as soon as possible."

"I somehow doubt that either one of them would have lost their keys to the agency... This case was a locked room at a first glance, but it's starting to seem less and less like that as time goes on," Victoria murmured. "I mean, if the woman with red hair was able to get inside, bringing the man with white hair alongside her, then that opens up all sorts of possibilities for other people to have gotten into the building when nobody was paying attention. I understand that saying something like that is a bit dramatic, but... It's not as if there's anything else that we can say on the matter. We don't have enough proof about who all had the keys or who would have needed to steal one in order to get in."

"Both of them are super organized, so we can at least bring that up in the trial," Yuri commented with a shrug. "Everybody on the prosecution seems to know that too. Well, of course they know it. All three of them have been working with the agency for as long as I can remember the agency existing in the first place. We're going to have to consider who the woman with red hair is during the trial too... You know, unless we want to have to track down the victim using other methods on our own time. I don't know about what you guys think, but I believe that sounds absolutely dreadful."

I couldn't help but laugh as I nodded. "Yeah, I get that... I don't think I would want to do that either," I told her, trying to keep the atmosphere as light and cheerful as possible. Yuri starting off the conversation in a bad mood was certainly one way to get the discussion going, but I still wanted to try and cheer everybody up if it was possible. 

"For now, we'll just be patient," Deirdre declared. "As for other aspects of this case that need our attention... I've been thinking quite a bit about the strange behavior from Prosecutor Lin yesterday. Not even Nevada appeared to know what was going on, and given how close Nevada seems to have become to her caretakers in the past few weeks... It's concerning that there was such a sudden change. Something must have spurred it on, and I'm positive that it has something to do with the candle that Mr. Morix was messing with when we were first investigating the scene of the crime."

"That was when she started to change her tune as far as our conversation was concerned, so it seems safe to say that it was involved with all of this," Victoria murmured. "I have to wonder if perhaps it could have anything to do with... You know... That. I mean, those three siblings have been at the center of that sort of business from the very beginning."

"Chrysalis is the centerpiece, and Mr. Morix is her right hand. Prosecutor Lin is understandably involved given the origins of such a thing too... She's got to be connected, but... If all of that is the case, then why would the three of them know about something that was kept from all of us?" Yuri questioned. "We're part of the group too, but we were left in the dark. I don't understand any of what's going on, and I don't think that any of you guys get it either. It sucks, because we should get it! Instead, we're left scrambling around in the dark because they aren't telling us anything!"

"They must have a reason for this," I told Yuri, trying to keep her drastic anger from getting the best of her. She slumped her shoulders, likely understanding that I had a point, as I continued talking. "All we can do for now is trust their judgement and wait to see what they uncover. I'm sure that they're trying to help us from behind the scenes. They wouldn't just leave us out to dry over something this important. They have a lot to consider with this issue, yes, but that doesn't mean that they're going to just abandon us. I'm sure that you know that, but I want to make it perfectly clear that we don't have anything to worry about."

"I know," Yuri grumbled, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes in contemplation. When she opened them again, she glanced over the defendant lobby before her gaze found the door. Her eyes shot open, and I could already tell what she was going to say before the words even left her lips. "Felicity and Sky are here! Act natural!"

I couldn't help but cringe at Yuri's attempts to get the conversation to end. In her desperation to 'act natural', she wound up making us all look tense and stilted, and it would have been clear as day to anyone who looked closely enough that we were hiding something. Then again, I supposed that I really shouldn't have been surprised. That was how Yuri was. Her emotions were as drastic and dramatic as possible, and she never hesitated to show it. 

Felicity and Sky appeared beside me a few moments later, and I could tell from the way that Sky's hair was sticking out in every direction that he hadn't exactly been given as much time as he needed to get ready. Felicity, on the other hand, didn't appear to mind at all, so it became increasingly obvious to me that she was the cause of their tardiness. All was as I expected. 

"What's up with you guys?" Felicity questioned with her usual air of optimistic chaos. She tucked her hands up behind her head, and another grin blossomed on her features. "I take it that you're still a bit frustrated that we haven't heard anything from Mr. Morix, huh?" She gestured down to Yuri's phone, and I realized that the younger girl was still grasping the device tightly between her tense fingers. 

"You could certainly say that," Yuri muttered with a shake of her head. "But I guess that doesn't matter too much right now. What's going on with you two? Also, Sky, do you want a brush or something? I don't have one, but it certainly looks like you could use a bit more time to yourself."

"The alarm clock went off late," Sky sighed. "Felicity insisted that everything would be fine, but it was pure chaos as we tried to get ready. I didn't realize how awful my hair looked until after we had already left the house. I guess it's good that you guys are taking care of the defense while we're just watching." He let one hand rise to his red hair, and he began to comb his fingers through it. He winced whenever he accidentally caught a knot in his grasp, but he kept going regardless of the pain. 

"There's nothing for you to fear," Victoria assured her. "We have everything under control for this case right now. I mean, we're going to need a few more bits of information before we can start to piece together the whole picture, but I still think that we're making good progress in showing that Lily couldn't have done it. The witness' insistence on seeing a woman and man walk into the agency long before Lily got there will make tis way easier."

"Of course, there are a few other things about the witness that could prove to be frustrating to negotiate with," Deirdre murmured. "There are a lot of strange things about the witness that I noticed when we were speaking with her. The fact that she has amnesia is one thing for us to factor in when considering this case, but her odd habits of staring off into space during conversation... That could prove difficult to work around if we aren't careful."

"We can't let her get away with using that as an excuse. That's what you're trying to say here, right?" Victoria questioned. Deirdre responded with a nod, and the two shared a brief glance before turning their attention back to the conversation at hand. 

"For now, I guess that all we can really do is wait until after we're called into the courtroom... There are so many mysteries surrounding this case, and I don't know where to even begin on solving them right now. I mean, that's kind of the reason that the trial is being held in the first place, but..." Yuri's words trailed off, and she shook her head to banish any lingering doubts that plagued her mind. "We have solid footing to stand on to show that Lily didn't do it, and that's a really good place to start."

"The testimony about the existence of the man and woman who entered the agency is a great starting point, and we can go from there to figure out who they are and why they were present," Deirdre agreed. "It's a good thing for us, and all we have to do is use it effectively. If we can figure out who they were and what their motivations for going to the agency in the first place were, then we can hopefully spiral outwards from there and put the rest of the pieces together."

"If the woman with red hair really was the victim, then we should be able to hopefully find a way to learn her true identity. It's not as if red hair is particularly common, and since it's been a day, there's a chance that others will have figured out that she's missing. From there, we can see if Ms. Lesa believes that pictures of our mystery woman match the person she saw entering the agency, and that will make things way easier for us," Victoria declared. "But for now, we're just going to have to hope that the prosecution has figured something out that we can work with. It's not as if they're going to go out of their way to try and show that Lily did it. They have no reason to, and they believe that she's innocent just as much as we do. Having them on our side is going to make this easier as we try to figure out what's going on."

The cry of the bailiff kept us from discussing the case any further, and I let out a small sigh as a nervous smile appeared on my face. "It seems like the time has come for us to go and take care of this," I commented, trying to keep from looking as nervous as I felt. I had full confidence that the others in the agency had this under control, but that still didn't completely extinguish the anxiety that came with being the one in the defendant's chair. It was an unnerving experience, and I doubted that would ever change. 

The rest of the group nodded, and we all bid each other farewell before going in our separate directions. This case was certainly turning out to be something special. I was sure that everyone would be able to handle this, but it didn't stop me from wondering what was going on with the woman and man who had entered the agency that morning. Who could they have been? Why were they there? What did they want? Only time would be able to tell though, and that meant I was back to waiting again. 

I hated waiting. 

**November 21**

**Courtroom No. 6**

**10:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

The inside of the courtroom was just what I had expected to see, and I allowed myself to settle into place without any issues. Yuri and Victoria did the same on either side of me, and I glanced around at the courtroom around us. I figured that checking our surroundings would be a nice thing to do to fill the time before we actually had to get down to business. 

I saw that the judge on the case was Ophani Diaphan. She looked just as poised and elegant as ever, something that didn't surprise me in the slightest. Her face was also hiding behind its usual mask, and she was gripping loosely at the gavel needed for the trial. If she noticed that I was staring at her, she didn't show it. I wouldn't have been able to tell regardless; her mask simply made tracking eye movements difficult unless she did something drastic. 

I checked out the prosecution's bench next, and I couldn't help but cringe when I saw that Chief Prosecutor Bespoke had the same hardened look in his eyes that I had seen the day before. If not for his regular look of leather, I never would have thought that he was the same person that I had always known. He was fiddling around nervously with something, and upon closer examination, I realized that it was a knife. It seemed that he was having trouble staying still, and I couldn't help but frown at the sight. Something was clearly bothering him, and I found myself curious as to what it could have been. If it was important to the case, it was going to come out one way or another, but it was still concerning to me for the time being. 

The sharpness had spread over to Prosecutor Burke as well, but the change was far less noticeable given that she was regularly far more attentive than her coworker. She glanced down at Anton far more often than usual, and it was almost strange to see her so tense and upset while he remained just as quiet as he always had been. He almost seemed carefree, like he didn't fully comprehend the gravity of the situation that was weighing down his companions to such a degree. 

Judge Diaphan hit her gavel against the podium before her, and I was pulled away from my thoughts immediately. "The trial of Lily Shield is now in session. Are the defense and prosecution ready?" she asked, looking back and forth between us. Her head tilted lightly so that I could track the movements of her eyes. 

"The prosecution is ready," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said bluntly. He wasn't wasting any time with formalities, it seemed. Once again, I felt a shiver sprint up my spine at the sight of him so tense and upset when he was regularly so relaxed. I couldn't help but wonder why he was involved with this case in the first place. After all, he was the chief prosecutor; he had far more important things to be doing than overseeing smaller trials, and yet, here he was. 

"The defense is also ready," I confirmed after sharing a brief glance with Yuri and Victoria. They seemed just as determined as I was, but I could see that Victoria's gaze kept straying to the other side of the courtroom. It seemed that she was just as concerned about Chief Prosecutor Bespoke's sudden change in behavior as I was. 

"Good," Judge Diaphan said with a curt nod. "Prosecution, please begin your opening statement at this time. Summarize the details of the case for the court." She set down her gavel and folded her hands before resting them carefully on the wooden podium before her. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "The crime took place in Morix Law Offices. The defendant walked in when attempting to open the business for the day and saw that there was blood splattered on the floor. She called the police soon afterwards, and they arrived on the scene before deciding that she was suspicious due to her connection to the scene of the crime," he began. 

"The crime was essentially a locked door case as far as we can tell," Prosecutor Burke declared, picking up where her coworker had left off. "There aren't many people who have access to keys that would let them enter the agency in question, and we can say confidently that the defendant is one of those people. We've been trying to track down those who have keys, and we haven't been able to find anyone who has a key and wouldn't have had an alibi for the time of the crime. It certainly paints her in a suspicious light."

"The victim's identity was unknown throughout much of the previous investigation, but we have reason to believe that the person who was attacked was one Eileen Liyle," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke told the court next. "We received an anonymous tip that she had gone missing around the time of the crime, and upon investigating it further, we learned that she was likely the one who was attacked."

"There's no way to say for sure if she was murdered or simply attacked. We haven't been able to find any traces of her either way, and that leaves us to wonder what could have taken place at the time," Prosecutor Burke continued. "We aren't sure about many of the details quite yet, but we can say that the victim is most likely Eileen Liyle. Her physical description happens to match the details that were offered by a witness from the time of the attack, and we can say rather confidently that she was at the very least involved with this case. We have no way of comparing her DNA to other samples unfortunately, but we're investigating other ways to confirm our suspicions."

"I don't like the sound of this anonymous tip thing," Yuri commented, nudging me gently with her elbow. "I feel like there's some funny business going on here, and we should be careful that it doesn't wind up biting us later... For all we know, the one who sent in the tip is responsible for all of this. Then again, I don't know why the culprit would have said something like that, but... I don't know what's going on, but I feel like you know what I'm talking about. This is fishy, and we should be careful of taking something like that at face value."

"I agree," Victoria nodded. "When we were taking care of the case at the school, we heard about an anonymous tip from an unknown figure who said that Mukuro did it. We never actually figured out who was responsible for that, but... They were wrong, and they really tilted the perspective of the case for a while there. It's weird that somebody unrelated to the case would have done a thing like that, but I agree with Yuri's suspicions. We need to be careful of getting sucked into this sort of thing."

"I understand," Judge Diaphan murmured. She seemed to be talking more to herself than any of us, and I recognized that this was a sign the opening statement had drawn to a close. "If that's all that you have to say about the case, then I suppose that you should go on and call your first witness to the stand. Prosecution, please proceed."

"The prosecution calls Vera Wattson to the witness stand," Prosecutor Burke declared. She snapped nonchalantly and pointed to the podium without a care in the world, but here eyes remained just as hard and sharp as before. I did my best to hold back a cringe, but I couldn't entirely contain it. There was something different about her, and I was positive that this newfound sense of fire had something to do with Chief Prosecutor Burke acting so unlike himself too. 

Detective Wattson didn't take long to move up to the witness stand, and she had a somewhat relaxed smile on her face, a stark contrast from the odd way that the prosecutors were acting. She adjusted the edge of her jacket before sending her eyes up to the rest of us, and her expression softened when she saw us. I prayed this meant that she had good news for us. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan instructed. 

"My name is Vera Wattson, and I work as a homicide detective," Detective Wattson replied. "I'm looking over this case as well, and I've been called here to offer a few extra details about the crime."

"In that case, go right ahead," Judge Diaphan said next. She gave a gentle wave gesture to indicate that this was time to continue, and Detective Wattson took in a small breath before starting to talk about what had taken place. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Details of the Crime ~**

_-"In all honesty, we really don't know that much about the crime. We don't even know if the victim is alive or not."_

_-"We believe that the victim must have been attacked by someone who had a key to the agency where the crime took place."_

_-"There were quite a few people who had keys to the scene of the crime, but all of them have alibis save for the defendant."_

_-"She was going there earlier than her coworkers to open the building for the day so that business could be conducted, and she was there alone."_

_-"It's very possible that she could have done something while she was waiting for others to arrive at the scene."_

_-"Without a body to check, we can't even say when the crime took place. No autopsy can be performed, so there's no way to say when the victim was attacked."_

"That sure is cryptic," Yuri commented after Detective Wattson was finished talking. "I really don't know what I was expecting, but... It's still unfortunate to hear about. I was hoping that we would be able to hear a little something else about what happened, but it seems that simply wasn't meant to be."

"We'll just have to use what we know about the crime to poke holes elsewhere," Victoria told her, a smile on her face. "I'm not going to give in, especially not to the first obstacle. Besides, I think that we should be able to disprove this testimony relatively easily. We already have the evidence that we need to show that something else happened at the time."

I nodded my agreement. "Victoria is right. I believe that we'll be able to round off this segment of the trial without any issues. It will undoubtedly lead into the testimony of Ms. Lesa, though I don't know where we'll be going from there. It's a mystery, and we're going to need a few other pieces of evidence in order to figure out what happened at the time," I said. 

"There are quite a few details missing from this case, it seems," Judge Diaphan remarked with a shake of her head. "We don't know if the victim is dead or alive. If the body was moved, why would a bloodstain be left behind? That would certainly point to the fact that something must have happened, and yet, it was allowed to remain. I thought that it should have been cleaned if the body was taken away for some reason or another."

"Without the body, we have no way of figuring out the time of the crime either," Detective Wattson said, shrugging to herself. "It's the one key detail that we need to find out in order to put together a cohesive timeline of the case."

"The defense is ready to begin its cross-examination of the testimony," I announced. I was more than ready to move towards the next part of the trial. Detective Wattson had a point, but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to try and state my piece while I could. 

"In that case, go right ahead," Judge Diaphan told me. Her conversation with Detective Wattson died away as quickly as it had begun, and the courtroom fell silent. I gestured for Detective Wattson to repeat her testimony, and she began to without question. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Details of the Crime ~**

_-"In all honesty, we really don't know that much about the crime. We don't even know if the victim is alive or not."_

_-"We believe that the victim must have been attacked by someone who had a key to the agency where the crime took place."_

_-"There were quite a few people who had keys to the scene of the crime, but all of them have alibis save for the defendant."_

_-"She was going there earlier than her coworkers to open the building for the day so that business could be conducted, and she was there alone."_

_-"It's very possible that she could have done something while she was waiting for others to arrive at the scene."_

_-"Without a body to check, we can't even say when the crime took place. No autopsy can be performed, so there's no way to say when the victim was attacked."_

"Objection!"

"You say that there's no way for us to figure out when the crime took place, but we have witness testimony to state otherwise," I announced. "A witness for the case saw the victim enter the scene of the crime hours prior to the arrival of the defendant on the scene. She was alive and well up until that point."

"That is true... But we still don't know what point precisely she was attacked at in that timeframe," Detective Wattson replied. "If we knew that the crime took place prior to the defendant's arrival, then we would have a strong piece of evidence to say that she didn't do it. However, there's the possibility that the victim was hurt after the defendant arrived. She could have simply stayed in the building until the defendant arrived, and that would erase our idea of when the crime took place. As much as I hate to say it, there simply isn't enough evidence for us to latch onto the idea that the crime took place earlier in the morning."

"I believe that we should go on and hear from the witness in question," Judge Diaphan commented. "If the witness saw something so crucial, then we need to hear the testimony as soon as possible. There are too many gaps in the case's outline at the time for us to press on with this line of reasoning. The witness may be able to clear up a few things regarding this though."

"I agree," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. He gestured for Detective Wattson to step away from the witness stand, and she did so with a small nod in his direction. She returned to her place soon afterwards, and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke cleared his throat before pointing to the witness stand once again. "The prosecution now calls Razi Lesa to the witness stand."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update time!
> 
> -Digital


	46. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 6

**November 21**

**Courtroom No. 6**

**10:30 AM**

**Victoria von Graye**

It didn't take too long for Ms. Lesa to take her place behind the witness stand, but she looked just as distant and impossible to read as she had the day before. In fact, everything about her was difficult to understand. Her eyes had gone glassy, and I could tell that she was struggling to keep herself grounded in the chaos of the courtroom. The various eyes on her from the gallery seemed to make her nervous, and she couldn't stop fidgeting with the hem of her clothing as soon as she had started. 

The most curious part about her general appearance was how her hood remained up. Even in the formal environment, she managed to find a way to keep the upper half of her face hidden. I couldn't help but wonder what her motives behind such could have been, but I figured that it was best for me to not question it. She must have had a reason, and I wasn't going to poke the bear too hard to try and figure out what was going on. 

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Judge Diaphan instructed. She seemed to notice that there was something off about Ms. Lesa the same way that I had, though I doubted that she was able to place it. There was simply something strange about Ms. Lesa that seemed to have all of us feeling like something was off, but even if we couldn't quite identify the source, the sensation was more than enough to leave us curious about what to do next. 

"I'm Razi Lesa... That's what I've been going by for now, anyways," Ms. Lesa remarked, shrugging to herself. She didn't seem to mind that she sounded so detached and uncaring. In fact, there was almost something deliberate about the way that she was speaking. "I don't know what my job is. I don't know much of anything about myself, as a matter of fact. I'm here now though, so... I guess that means something."

"What are you talking about?" Judge Diaphan questioned. She didn't look at Ms. Lesa when she posed the question, instead choosing to direct it towards the prosecution. She waited expectantly for an answer. 

Luckily for her, Prosecutor Burke was more than happy to provide it. "We found out yesterday that the witness is currently suffering from amnesia," she explained. "We don't know for sure what could have happened to her, but she has severe memory loss and doesn't remember anything that took place up until the time before the crime. It's unfortunate, but there's not much that we can do to work around it."

"Razi Lesa is simply the placeholder name I've been using until I can figure out who I actually am," Ms. Lesa explained. She gave a small shrug of her shoulders, but the motion was jerky and unfocused. "I don't know if I'll ever find the answers that I'm looking for, but that doesn't matter much right now."

"She's going to testify for the court about what she saw regardless of if she remembers the past or not," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke continued. "Even if there are doubts about the past, she's going to do her best to tell us about the case in question. She doesn't seem to have many questions about what could have happened involving the crime, and we don't have any other witnesses to listen to about what happened the day of the crime. We're going to do what we can to factor in her words to our current explanation of events. Believe me when I say that we've already measured the risks of having her testify, and we think that it's certainly for the best that we at least hear her out regarding what she believes to have seen."

Judge Diaphan hesitated before nodding. "I understand," she said after a long pause that seemed to hang in the air for a thousand years. "If you were truly present at the scene of the crime, then please explain to us what could have happened at the time of the crime as far as you are aware."

"The fact that we have a name for the victim now is a huge step up from what happened yesterday," Yuri remarked from the other side of Deirdre. Both of us turned our attention towards the younger girl. "Yesterday, we were clueless as to who she could have been, but... I think that this would make sense."

"We might not be able to completely take everything at face value yet, but we can at least temporarily look through the facts of the case from the lens of the victim being this Eileen Liyle figure," Deirdre agreed. "I wish that we had information regarding the person who could have offered the anonymous tip, but if it's important for us to figure out, then we're undoubtedly going to find out sooner or later."

"For the time being, let's just go on and listen to her testimony," I told them. "I think that would be our best course of action, especially since we now have the potential to figure out what happened thanks to the name of the victim."

The other two members of the defense team nodded to me, and we all shifted our attention up to Ms. Lesa. She was starting to play with the edges of her light brown hair, and I couldn't help but feel that everything about her was somehow muted. Perhaps it was because she was wearing all dark colors, but she didn't seem bright in the slightest. Even her hair and skin, which should have been far brighter and sharper by comparison, seemed to blend in with the aura of gray that she possessed. A small voice in the back of my head whispered that perhaps she was sickly somehow, but I decided that it would be for the best to put such concerns to rest until after we had managed to listen to what she had to say about the case. 

"Please begin your testimony at this time," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke instructed. His voice was just as hard as it had been the day before, and his eyes narrowed in the direction of Ms. Lesa. Well, at the very least, his one visible eye narrowed, but I could still sense the intensity even with hair obstructing his other eye from view. 

Ms. Lesa nodded slowly, seeming to gather her bearings after her moment of not paying attention. "Okay," she eventually murmured. Once again, I couldn't help but feel that she was muted somehow. Something about her just didn't seem right, but for the time being, all that mattered was listening to what she had to say. All other concerns regarding her identity could wait for just a little while longer. They sort of had to given the circumstances, and I wasn't about to protest after we had reached this point. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ The Woman and Man ~**

_-"I was walking around the area near the agency that morning, but I have to admit that I don't really remember quite why..."_

_-"But I guess that it doesn't matter. While I was walking, I saw two people in the same area, but something was wrong."_

_-"One of them was a woman with red hair while the other was a man with white hair. The man was strange, I have to say..."_

_-"He seemed to be following the woman, but she didn't seem to notice that he was there. If she knew, she chose to ignore him."_

_-"She pulled out a key from her pocket and got into the agency, and the man caught the door before it could shut behind her."_

_-"The man came out while I was still walking in the area, but the woman never did... She just stayed inside for ages..."_

_-"I wound up hiding behind a bush to watch over the area since I had a bad feeling about it all, but I never saw the woman leave the building."_

_-"In the end, I decided to leave, but the woman never came out, and the man didn't bother returning after he was finished."_

I found my eyes going wide at the sudden expansion to her testimony. I spared a glance in the direction of Deirdre and Yuri, and I saw that they were just as surprised about all of this as I was. I swallowed dryly and tried to stifle the nerves that were starting to chatter beneath the surface. 

When we last spoke to Ms. Lesa, she hadn't mentioned anything about hiding in the bushes near the agency. It was true that there were a few pieces of greenery on the other side of the street. There was an office building that had a few plants in the yard in front of the entrance, so this wasn't completely out of the picture. I was sure that the buildings would have had to be closed for the day to keep anyone from seeing her hiding in the bushes at the time of the crime. After all, they were normally up and running before the agency opened, but that didn't appear to be the case if Ms. Lesa's testimony was to be believed.

"I don't know what to do from here," Deirdre confessed. There was confusion written loud and clear on her features, and I did my best to keep from cringing at the sight of such. I couldn't blame her for wondering what the best step was to take from here. I was in much the same position, if I was being honest. The sudden addition to Ms. Lesa's testimony, while useful to have, didn't really offer us much more information than we had already been able to access before she came out with it. 

"We'll figure something out," Yuri shrugged nonchalantly from her side. "I think that we can at least attempt to put together a timeline of events... The woman with red hair, Ms. Liyle, must have left the building at some point. If she didn't come out with the man with white hair, then she must have left on her own. It's not as if anybody else would have come by to take her away from the agency. That simply wouldn't make sense and couldn't fit in with what Lily did at the time."

"In other words, you believe that the victim is alive and out there somewhere," I realized. I glanced back towards Ms. Lesa and saw that she was messing with the edge of her hair once more. She didn't seem to be paying attention as Judge Diaphan commented on her testimony. 

"The victim went into the building but never came out... And yet, when the scene of the crime was discovered, there was no body found where the bloodstains were located," Judge Diaphan commented. "I see... Defense, prosecution... Do either one of you have any comments on the witness' testimony?"

The prosecution was completely silent, and in my eyes, that was far worse than them having something to say. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke hadn't been able to put that restlessness away yet, and it was really starting to grate on me the longer that I didn't understand it. Prosecutor Burke's bluntness being kicked up a notch didn't help in the slightest. 

"The defense would like to begin the cross-examination at this time," Deirdre announced. I wasn't sure if she had a plan for what she was going to say, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying. After all, we didn't really have much of a choice but to make an attempt. 

Judge Diaphan nodded to Ms. Lesa. It took a moment for the girl to snap away from her trance, but once she did, she started speaking once again. She took her testimony from the beginning, and I couldn't help but wonder what we could do next. We didn't know enough about the case to poke a clear hole in her words, and there was no easy contradiction to be found. With all of that said, what could we do next? I just hoped that Deirdre actually had the answers like she was implying. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ The Woman and Man ~**

_-"I was walking around the area near the agency that morning, but I have to admit that I don't really remember quite why..."_

_-"But I guess that it doesn't matter. While I was walking, I saw two people in the same area, but something was wrong."_

_-"One of them was a woman with red hair while the other was a man with white hair. The man was strange, I have to say..."_

_-"He seemed to be following the woman, but she didn't seem to notice that he was there. If she knew, she chose to ignore him."_

_-"She pulled out a key from her pocket and got into the agency, and the man caught the door before it could shut behind her."_

_-"The man came out while I was still walking in the area, but the woman never did... She just stayed inside for ages..."_

_-"I wound up hiding behind a bush to watch over the area since I had a bad feeling about it all, but I never saw the woman leave the building."_

_-"In the end, I decided to leave, but the woman never came out, and the man didn't bother returning after he was finished."_

"Hold it!"

"Could you put together a timeline for the court of the rough times where you saw the man and woman?" Deirdre questioned. Her gaze was intense, but I could tell that she was clinging to desperate threads. Suddenly, her plan made sense, and I couldn't help but smile to myself. She was going to try and use this testimony to make a sequence of events that we could all follow to find the truth. It was a nice place to start, especially given how clueless we were at that point. 

Ms. Lesa paused to consider before nodding. "Sure... I think it was about seven in the morning that I was walking around. I wasn't near the agency quite yet at this time though. That was about the time that the sun was coming up. I didn't have a way of checking the time directly, but the sun was starting to rise, so... That sounds about right as far as what time it was," she began to reply. "Hm... I think that I saw them around thirty minutes later, and I wound up sitting in the bushes for roughly another half hour after that. These are all estimations since I didn't have a way of checking the time for sure, but..."

"You were there for half an hour after the two went inside..." I whispered. I didn't know what to do with this information, but this left a window of about an hour where something could have happened. Lily arrived at around nine in the morning for the opening duties, and that was when she saw the bloodstains left behind. Could the victim have possibly been moved or otherwise left in the space between Ms. Lesa's departure and Lily's arrival?

"It seems to me like something must have happened to make the victim leave the scene during the hour period where you weren't there and the defendant hadn't yet arrived," Judge Diaphan declared, seeming to have come to the same conclusion that I had. "Is there any evidence that would potentially show us where the victim could have disappeared to? Even the slightest hint could be seen as useful."

"We don't have any ideas," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke replied with a shrug. "It would certainly be easier if we did have a plan to figure that out, but... Whoever took the victim away from the scene was incredibly thorough and made sure that there wasn't any evidence left behind. We don't even know what the weapon could have been or how it could have been hidden."

That gave me an idea, and I glanced over to Ms. Lesa. "That is a good question, as a matter of fact... Ms. Lesa, do you have any ideas as to what the weapon could have been? Did you see the man with white hair carrying anything when he left the building?" I questioned. It was most certainly a long shot, but I wanted to at least try to see if there was anything that could be gleaned from this line of reasoning. 

Ms. Lesa hesitated, and I saw a flicker of anxiety pass through her features. She suddenly shifted back and forth between her feet, and I could have sworn that I saw her wince in pain when she moved her center of gravity over to her left leg. I hadn't even noticed that she was standing on her right leg until after she started moving around, but it seemed intentional all of a sudden. In fact, she hadn't been carrying herself normally at all the day before. She had always been skewed a bit off to the side, and I was starting to wonder if there was perhaps a reason for that. 

"I-I don't think I saw anything..." she whispered, though there was clear doubt in her voice. "I'm pretty sure that it was just him walking around. There was nothing that really struck me as being notably different from the average person, so I didn't bother to commit the exact details to memory. I can say that he wasn't covered in blood or anything. He just looked... Normal, I suppose, but... There was something off about him. I don't know how to describe it though."

"Maybe it was something in the way that he carried himself," Yuri suggested, though she kept her comments primarily to me and Deirdre instead of addressing the courtroom as a whole. "I mean, you can usually tell it when something is off about a person even if they seem normal at a first glance. All it takes is a bit of critical thinking, and you can tell if something is wrong with them. Maybe they seem more tense and uptight than the average person that you're used to being around."

I bit back a comment about how it seemed to me like there was something off about Ms. Lesa herself. The way that she suddenly rocked back and forth between her legs struck me as odd, and I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps there was a specific reason for that. Maybe she had gotten hurt at some point. It probably wasn't relevant to the case at hand, but it was still something for us to keep in mind. 

Or maybe it was relevant. 

I raised my hand to get the attention of those around me. I knew that it wasn't precisely necessary, but since it was a habit for me, I couldn't bring myself to drop my hand until after it had already been placed in the air. An embarrassed flush threatened to overtake me, but I did what I could to keep it at bay in favor of focusing on the matter at hand. "Ms. Lesa... I have to ask you... Is there something wrong with your leg?" I questioned. I didn't bother elaborating further quite yet. It would be for the best if I gave her a chance to answer honestly before saying what I thought was going on. Besides, I didn't have any solid evidence for my theory, so this was probably the best place to start. 

Ms. Lesa was once again hesitant to answer, though I really don't know why I was particularly surprised about this. It seemed to be simply par for the course with her. She swallowed dryly before offering a response. "I... I don't know what you're talking about..." she eventually whispered, though the words clearly struggled to come out. 

"You just moved back and forth between your legs like something was wrong... In fact, you haven't been putting full weight on your left leg at all ever since this investigation started. I was simply wondering if perhaps there was a reason for your sudden odd behavior. I don't mean to put you on the spot or anything, but if there's something going on, you should tell us about it," I explained. 

"You only did the shifting after we brought up the weapon that was used at the time of the crime," Deirdre pointed out. I internally thanked her for being as observant as she was. That was certainly going to make this a lot easier for all of us to deal with. "Is there something that's going on involving the weapon used in the crime?"

Ms. Lesa let out a sigh when she seemed to realize that she couldn't keep this quiet anymore. "I injured my leg when I was out on my walk that day. I tripped after seeing the man walk back out of the building. I guess that remembering it just made me nervous," she explained. 

I could tell that there was still something wrong. I didn't have explicit proof beyond my mere gut instinct, but I was positive that she was lying to us about something else involving her injury. Much to my own distaste, I bit my lip and wondered internally about what could have caused her to get hurt in such a way. I somehow thought that it was a bit more than simply her tripping and spraining her ankle as a result. Even without evidence, I found it all rather strange. 

"We still need to figure out what the murder weapon was," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke declared. "We don't have any leads on it. The scene of the crime was searched top to bottom, but we didn't find anything inside that could have even remotely been considered suspicious. Without a way of saying for sure what injuries the victim sustained, then we're sort of at a loss for ideas as well. It's unfortunate, but there's really not anything that we can do about it until we can either find the victim's body or otherwise uncover proof about what happened."

"If the weapon was a gun, chances are that Ms. Lesa would have heard the bullet being shot off from her place outside the building," Deirdre murmured. "There were no traces of a bullet or gunpowder being found at the scene, though that's significantly less incriminating of a gun not being the weapon than the lack of sound since those things could have been hidden with some effort."

"Strangulation is out of the question as well in my eyes. That wouldn't have left behind as much blood as was found at the scene. In fact, it could have very easily left behind no blood at all, and the only wounds that would likely appear from strangulation would be small cuts on the throat, but even that could be considered unlikely," I commented. 

"If we're talking about weapons that could have been hidden, why don't we consider a knife?" Yuri questioned. "That would have been easy enough for the culprit to hide so that nobody saw them carrying it around. All it would take is a pocket large enough to keep it hidden. Plus, that would certainly open up a large enough injury to leave behind a lot of blood like what was seen in the agency's lobby. It's probably the best lead that we've got at this point."

"You're probably right," Deirdre agreed. "Of course, it would have been better for us to find some other form of evidence to prove this conclusively, but we don't have that option right now. The other notable cause of death that I can think of, a blow to the head, seems improbably as well. There weren't any weapons like that found at the scene of the crime, and something would have certainly been found covered in blood if this was the reason that the victim was either hurt or killed. It would have been spotted by Ms. Lesa when the culprit was trying to flee the scene as well, so that rules out yet another possibility and makes stabbing seem all the more likely."

"So... What all have we figured out so far?" Prosecutor Burke questioned. Her voice was tinged with impatience, and I could tell that she was desperate to move on and focus on another subject as soon as possible. "We believe that the murder weapon was probably a knife of some sort that the culprit hid under their clothing or in a pocket of some kind, and that was how they got away with the crime without seeming suspicious at a first glance."

"The only problem I can think of is that a stabbing would leave behind a lot of blood," Judge Diaphan pointed out. "It's not as if you can stab somebody and get away with it without any bloodstains being left behind. It's far from being that simple, and you would expect the culprit to at least have a bit of blood on their clothing when fleeing from the scene of the crime. However, the witness very clearly stated already that this did not happen, leaving us to wonder what could have happened at the time of the crime."

I cringed at the realization that she had a point there. If the culprit really did stab the victim, then what happened to the bloodstains? If they were cleaning up the scene of the crime, then why did they leave behind the massive pool on the agency's floor? It would have made far more sense to scrub it away, and that would have meant that nobody would have been able to notice that anything had taken place at all. Instead, there was more than enough proof left behind that something had happened, and the culprit's actions were still beyond questionable. 

"I get the feeling that we're dealing with someone who is far from being an ordinary culprit here," Prosecutor Burke commented. She calmed down her bitterness immensely, instead choosing to cross her arms over her chest as she eyed Ms. Lesa silently. I got the feeling that she was just as positive that something was wrong as I was. There were only a few things that pointed to Ms. Lesa being off somehow, but none of them were exactly what I would have called solid evidence, and that made accusing her of anything difficult as could be. 

Plus, as much as I hated to say it, staying in Ms. Lesa's good books was definitely in our best interests. She was the only witness that we had for the case, and if we irritated her, then problems could have easily appeared. We were going to have to be as careful with her as possible to ensure that we didn't accidentally poke a sore spot and risk her anger as a result. I was as desperate to figure out what was going on with her as everyone else, but I knew that we were going to have to hold back for just a little bit longer until we had more of the case pieced together. 

"Is there anything else of particular significance that we should be aware of regarding what happened at the time of the crime?" Deirdre questioned, pulling me out of my paranoid thoughts. "Can you think of anything that could potentially point to the defendant being involved with this case at all?"

Ms. Lesa shook her head. "Well... I-I don't think she did it because of my natural biases towards the man that I saw walk into the agency. I wouldn't be quite so confident that he was responsible if not for the way that he was following around the woman with red hair seemingly without her noticing that he was there. He caught the door behind her, but she didn't pay any attention to him or even acknowledge that he was there. If they knew each other, then she would have definitely said something, but... No, she didn't act like he was there at all," she explained. "If you want my opinion, that should be more than enough to show that the defendant couldn't have done all of this. Besides, she would have had more than enough time to clean up the area if she was the one who did it. She didn't have to call the police when she did, but she called them at the exact time that she was meant to arrive there to get the agency ready for business hours."

"You mean that she would have held off on reporting the crime if she was responsible for it," I realized. "There wouldn't have been a reason for her to declare that something had happened right away if she was trying to clean everything up, but she did that anyways. It makes you think that she was honest about finding the scene then."

Ms. Lesa nodded. "The man wouldn't have had those luxuries as far as I can tell. He followed the woman into the agency, and when he left... He certainly seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. I said that something about him was off, and I think it was the fact that he appeared to be rushing to get away. He had been so slow and casual when he followed the victim into the building, but when he left... All of that had disappeared and was replaced by something frantic," she elaborated. 

I nodded to myself. The pieces were slowly starting to slide into place, but there were still far too many blank spots for my liking. We still didn't have any proof as to who the victim was or how she was attacked in the first place. Ms. Lesa, our only witness, was starting to act strangely as well, and that didn't help our case at all. At the very least, it was seeming more and more obvious that Lily wasn't the one who did it. 

Then again, sometimes, it's the small victories that wind up being the most important. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of 2020! 
> 
> -Digital


	47. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 7

**November 21**

**Courtroom No. 6**

**11:15 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

"I believe that now would be a good time for us to do a brief evaluation on the facts of this case," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke suddenly said, and I glanced up to him with a small frown on my face. He still had that strange sharpness to his voice and posture, and it was weird seeing him so attentive. No matter how many times I saw it, I still found it weird that he was acting like this. After years of seeing him act all sleepy and lazy, this was some serious whiplash for me. "We understand now that we have a potential method for the victim's attack or murder. Even if there are many facts missing, we can use this to our advantage and start to look around for more details about what happened to Eileen Liyle at the time of the crime. Let's recap everything that we've discovered thus far so that it's fresh in our minds."

"The victim entered the building with another person around two hours before the blood pool was discovered," Victoria started. "We know that the woman in question was likely Eileen Liyle given that her physical appearance matches the description offered by the witness. Ms. Razi Lesa was the one to see all of this, and she is confident that the victim was unaware that she was accompanied by a man with white hair. She entered the agency using a key, and the man followed her inside without her consent."

"From there, something happened where a large amount of blood was spilled. That caused the large pool of crimson on the floor of the agency, and it frightened the defendant when she arrived at the scene of the crime," Prosecutor Burke continued. "She called the police as soon as she noticed what it was, but she didn't realize she was going to wind up as the suspect."

"The police thought she was responsible because of her involvement with the discovery of the blood pool, but we now have reason to believe that the man with white hair was involved. We have a theory now that he stabbed the victim using some kind of pocketknife and then hid it underneath his clothes as he attempted to make his escape," Deirdre went on. "Of course, that does leave the hole regarding what happened to the blood splatter that would have gotten on his clothes. Given how much blood there was at the scene of the crime, you would expect there to be some on the clothes of the culprit, but when the man with white hair left the agency, he was completely clean."

"If he did commit the crime, then that also leaves the question of what happened with the victim after he left," I remarked. "I mean, by the time that Lily got there, she was alone. Something must have happened when nobody was watching the agency, and that was probably when the victim decided to make their escape. Either that or the culprit returned to the scene later in the day to retrieve the body and take it with them... But then that makes you wonder about why they didn't just do that in the first place. There are all sorts of questions that we still need to answer about this case..."

"The culprit's behavior is certainly strange, but the one thing that would make it easier for us to narrow down exactly what happened revolves around if we can figure out if the victim is dead or not," Prosecutor Burke commented as she crossed her arms. "I don't think we're going to be able to say for sure what's going on until after we can find that out. It'll change how we look at the case completely due to the two different angles we've been trying to play up to this point."

"We can't exactly find that out right now though," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said with a shake of his head. "If you ask me, we're going to need a bit more time to figure out the details of this case. We barely know anything about our victim, and that's a crucial part of figuring everything else. On top of that, we need to see if we can figure out how the man with white hair ties in with all of this. If he's really the culprit, then what business did he have with the victim? We'll be able to find the source of his strange actions from there with a bit of logic, deduction, and testimony."

"I know what you're trying to imply here," Judge Diaphan said, and her eyes narrowed slightly in his direction. Even with the upper half of her face mostly obscured, I could feel the intensity from all the way across the room. "You believe that this case would benefit from extra time for the investigation."

"I somehow doubt that anybody would object to something like that," Prosecutor Burke declared. She turned her gaze towards where I was standing with Victoria and Deirdre, and I could tell that she wasn't going to be tolerating any objections. Granted, we didn't have any in the first place, but her uncomfortable eye contact was still more than enough to make me feel like my skin was crawling. I forced myself to look away the instant that I felt a shiver run up my spine. 

"The defense has no objections to the idea of a second session of investigation," Deirdre announced. I was internally thankful that she was so much better at keeping her composure than I was. I was going to have to get better with this sort of thing one day, but for the time being, I was more than happy to allow her to take the lead. 

Victoria cleared her throat before speaking. "I believe that it would be for the best as well. We have figured out quite a bit today, but there are still far too many holes to this puzzle that we still need to fill in. An investigation would be the best way to remedy such an issue, so I can say conclusively that we'd like to have some extra time as well," she announced. 

Judge Diaphan let out a small hum as she reached for her gavel. "I suppose that settles that matter then," she whispered under her breath. When she next addressed the courtroom at large, she held her regular aura of power that commanded the attention of every single person in the space. "There will be another day of investigation that is to be used to find out more about the victim. Attention will also be dedicated towards finding out the true identity of the man with white hair and how he ties in with this case."

"There's the matter of the keys too," I whispered to Deirdre and Victoria. "We still don't know how this Eileen Liyle character got her hands on a key to the agency, and I think it's pretty important that we figure that out as soon as possible." They both nodded their agreement before shifting their attention back to Judge Diaphan. I took that as my cue to follow their lead and do the same. 

"Without further ado, court is adjourned," Judge Diaphan announced next. She slammed her gavel down, and the entire courtroom seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. We were free, at least for the time being, to find out as much as we could about the case. I hoped with everything I had that we would find something helpful as soon as possible. Heaven knew that we needed it. 

**November 21**

**Defendant Lobby No. 6**

**11:35 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

I let out a heavy breath as we arrived back in the defendant lobby, and I didn't hesitate to practically throw myself onto the couch nearby as I shook my head. "Looks like that's all been taken care of for the time being," I said, watching as Deirdre and Victoria came to gather around me. 

"I don't know how we're supposed to go about this, if I'm being perfectly honest," Victoria sighed. "I mean, we know that we have to find out more about the victim, but that's far easier said than done. Then there's the matter of getting Mr. Morix to talk to us about the key that he gave to Ms. Liyle. We've already been able to take out the idea of it being stolen, so that leaves only the one possibility of her getting a key at some point."

"That creates a connection between them, and if we're going to figure out who the man with white hair is, that would be a good place to start," Deirdre commented. "If Mr. Morix is aware of who Ms. Liyle is, then that means that he could very easily be aware of who the man with white hair is. We can ask him as soon as we're able to figure out where he disappeared to."

"You're still planning on talking to Mr. Morix?"

I glanced past Deirdre's shoulder and saw that Felicity, Sky, and Lily were all gathered behind her. Sky was the one who had spoken before. Both Deirdre and Victoria turned to face them, and a smile appeared on Victoria's face. "It's nice to see you three," she told them as she bowed her head gently. "For the record, we are. Of course, it'll be easier to say that we want to talk with him than to actually pull it off given how secretive he's been, but... With a little bit of searching, maybe we'll be able to figure out where he is now."

"Chrysalis would also probably be able to help us out," Lily said. "I mean, she and Mr. Morix tell each other just about everything. If he knows somebody, then chances are that she's aware of who they are too. It's how they've always functioned."

"If we can't find either one of them, then we can always resort to talking to Prosecutor Lin," I pointed out. "I don't think that she's as close to the center of their little circle, but she still knows things. The fact that she got so tense when we tried to talk to her about everything that happened with the crime proves it loud and clear to me that she's aware of something in this case that most other people wouldn't know about."

"As of now, there are three things keeping us from digging any deeper into this case, and those are the victim, the culprit, and the key," Deirdre announced. "We should try to figure out how we can work out the truth behind one of those facts. From there, it should be easier for us to confront the truth of the others."

"If you want my opinion, there's something going on with that Razi Lesa character too. Her explanation of tripping when she was walking around just doesn't sit well with me... Something has to be going on. Her claiming to have amnesia isn't exactly helping her case, though I suppose that if I brought that up, I would be airing on the rude side," Felicity remarked. 

"I would be lying if I said that I thought she was being completely honest with us," Deirdre confessed after a measured pause. "There's something about the way that she speaks that strikes me as odd, and I believe that we're going to have to do a bit more investigating before we can get her to open up to us."

"We'll be sure to put our attention towards that then," Victoria told us confidently as she nodded. "I think that the prosecution will be looking into what's going on with the victim, so maybe we can leave that subject alone at first. Our priority should be to figure out where Mr. Morix is so that we can ask him about who the victim is and how she ties in with all of this. The fact that she has a key is something that we need to keep in mind given how stingy he's previously been with handing out stuff like that."

"I think that I have an idea for where we should start with all of that, as a matter of fact," Sky suddenly cut in. He had one hand placed on his chin as he stared at the ground in thought. "Pardon me for interrupting, but... You mentioned that he and Chrysalis are both close with Prosecutor Lin. It would be worth looking into her if possible. Given that you seem sure that she is somehow aware of what's happening, that's a good place to start for now."

"You mean to say that there's a chance Mr. Morix will go to talk to her about the details behind this case," I realized as his words dawned on me in full. "I think that would make a lot of sense... We just have to catch him at the right time... For all we know, he was watching the trial from the gallery. If that's the case, then he's probably going to want to go there right about now since the courtroom just left its session. I didn't think to look for him, but reflecting back on it, I really should have."

"None of us thought that this would be the case," Deirdre assured me, placing a hand on her shoulder. The regular sense of steel determination that I had come to expect from her settled in a moment later. "I think that we should go to the Prosecutor's Office as soon as we're finished talking here. I doubt that Mr. Morix would simply swing by for a few minutes and then leave. That's never been in his nature due to how formal he is. I would say that we at least have a chance to end this conversation."

Lily raised her hand to get our attention. We all turned to look at her as she let out a grounding sigh. She smiled once she was finished, though I could see worry glittering beneath the surface of her bright blue eyes. "I just wanted to thank you all again for what you've been doing to help me out. I really do appreciate it," she told us. "I understand that this is how we would all treat each other in this sort of situation, but I still wanted you to know that it really does mean a lot to me."

"Of course," I assured her with a wide grin of my own. I began to lean forward, my elbows pressing against my knees as I looked up at her. "You've done all sorts of stuff to help the rest of us, and other people outside of the agency, out of situations like this. It's the least that we could do for you. Besides, it seems pretty clear that you weren't the one responsible for this. All we have to do is figure out who this man with white hair is, and then we should be able to clear your name no problem."

Lily's face flushed, but she didn't say anything. The rest of the agency's members seemed to agree, and when she glanced around to them, they all gave her nodding gestures that didn't hesitate to make her embarrassed a short while later. She fumbled for her words for a while longer before letting out a sigh and glancing down to the floor, seemingly having given up on anything that related to eye contact. "Thank you," she murmured, clearly struggling to keep from melting into a flustered puddle of human on the floor. 

Deirdre cleared her throat to change the subject, and everyone gave her their attention to keep it away from Lily. "If you ask me, I think that the man with white hair is going to wind up showing himself sooner or later," she said. "I suppose that you can simply call it an instinct. The description that we received from the witness was incredibly distinctive, and it should be easy for us to pick him out from a crowd, especially given the fact that Mr. Morix could very easily be aware of who he is."

"Well... Maybe," Sky sighed with a shake of his head. "Remember what Ms. Lesa said? She made it pretty clear that the man with white hair trailed the woman into the agency without her noticing that he was there. For all we know, the man just showed up and decided to follow her. I want to think that Mr. Morix will be able to help us, but I also don't want to get too excited if something winds up keeping that from being the case."

"We'll figure it out," Felicity assured him, placing a comforting hand on his upper arm. Sky gave her a thankful glance as she continued to speak. "I have to say, the fact that we haven't heard about this woman before now is really starting to bother me. If she's got a key to the agency, then she has to be important. Instead, we have no idea who she is, and she just showed up seemingly out of nowhere as soon as this case started. We should try to figure out why she and Mr. Morix know each other in the first place. Maybe they met at some point and we just weren't aware of it at the time."

"It's weird to me too, but I guess that all we can do for now is get ready to go and talk to him about it," I declared. As much as I hated to say it, we were going to have to get going sooner rather than later, and I fished my phone out of my pocket to check the time. I cringed when I realized how long we had been talking for, and I dropped the device back in its regular place. "I think that we should go on and wrap things up here. We have places to be, and most importantly, bosses to talk to. You know, assuming that he actually winds up deciding that he wants to discuss this with us."

Deirdre pulled out her phone as well, and she typed out a brief message before sending it. She turned to Lily, Felicity, and Sky after she was finished and bowed in their direction. "Forgive us for running off now, but we'll be back in the detention center as soon as possible to give you updates on how the case is going," she told the three of them. She gave a wave as she made her way to the door, and I took that as my cue to leave as well. I pried myself free of the couch and walked out alongside Victoria and Deirdre, unsure of what was coming next but hoping that it wound up being favorable for the outcome of our case. 

**November 21**

**Prosecutor's Office**

**12:15 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

The Prosecutor's Office was much the same as it had been the day before, and I glanced up at its full impressive height before making my way inside. We were moving quickly in our hopes of catching up with Mr. Morix even if there was no way of confirming that he was inside. Still, this was our best shot at finding him, and I wasn't going to let it slip through the cracks when we didn't really have any other options. 

"I saw a car that looked pretty similar to his in the parking lot," Victoria commented, easily earning the attention of both me and Yuri with her words. "If that is his, then he's here. I don't know how we're supposed to find him, but we might be able to ask around. Worst case scenario, we can wait out in the lobby and see if we can stop him when he's trying to leave."

I nodded my agreement, and we fully entered the building in question. I glanced around the entryway, and I found myself letting out a gasp when I recognized a familiar figure was standing nearby. The sound was more than enough to get the person in question to glance up in my direction, and my gaze was met with sunglasses and white hair. 

"Prosecutor Cruz!" Victoria cried out, her jaw dropping. "What are you doing down here? I didn't realize that we were going to be expecting company... Then again, it's not as if I know the way that this place functions all that well since I don't work here, so..." Her cheeks flushed when Prosecutor Cruz quirked an eyebrow in her direction. "Shutting up now."

Prosecutor Cruz shrugged and shook his head before settling his gaze on me. "I heard that you came by here yesterday, and you didn't even drop in to say hello," he commented as he crossed his arms. "That's unfortunate. I got a dog recently, and I would have totally shown you pictures if you had come by to greet me yesterday."

I snickered and rolled my eyes playfully, somewhat used to this brand of humor from him by now. Our relationship had expanded to something a bit more than simply being rivals in the courtroom, not that I would ever admit it openly. We spoke quite a bit outside of the working environment, and we had even shared dinner together a few times. I wouldn't have tolerated this sort of casual conversation if it was coming from anyone else at the Prosecutor's Office, but I didn't particularly mind it when he was the one responsible. 

"You got a dog?!" Yuri shrieked in surprise. Prosecutor Cruz nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket as Yuri boldly cried out that she wanted to see. He found a picture of a small blonde chihuahua and handed her the phone. Yuri's eyes went wide, and she immediately began to fawn over the small creature with a soft expression. If she had the option, she would have reached through the screen to pet it then and there. 

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to come to see you yesterday, but we were actually here on business," I explained. "We're investigating a case at the moment, and we were hoping that perhaps someone here would be able to answer our questions about it. Unfortunately, we didn't wind up finding the solutions that we were looking for, and the case has only grown more complicated as a result. We were crunched for time, but I think we can stay here and chat now as long as we remain here in the lobby."

Prosecutor Cruz's expression hardened at the mention of a case. "Let me guess... It's the same one that has had the chief prosecutor freaking out for the past day or so," he commented. When I nodded, he snorted and rolled his eyes. "Of course. He's been stressed ever since he heard about it. For once, he's actually not slacking off. He can't stop running around and working on it. After he finished with the investigation, he came back here, and I don't think that I've ever seen him looking so tense before. That's normally something for Prosecutor Burke or Prosecutor Shield. We all know that they're both very good at that, but it's not as much of a pattern for Chief Prosecutor Bespoke."

"We're here because we were hoping that we would be able to talk to Mr. Morix," Yuri explained. "We think that he dropped by here, and we really need to ask him for details about this case. He's been busy and hasn't had the chance to talk to us before, but it's really important." She continued to slide through the collection of photos that Prosecutor Cruz had pulled up of his dog, and she let out a small cooing sound when she found one that she particularly admired. 

"He was here earlier," Prosecutor Cruz said with a nod. "He passed through the lobby about fifteen minutes ago. If I had to guess, I would say that he was going to talk to Prosecutor Lin. I don't have any specific evidence of that, but it seems like as good an assumption as any." 

"In other words, we're doing the right thing by waiting here for him to come down. He's going to have to pass by the lobby in order to get back out to his car," Victoria grinned. "In the meantime, do you think that there's anything we should know about this case? I doubt that you know anything out of the blue given that you aren't exactly involved with the investigation, but it doesn't hurt to ask."

"I don't know anything detailed, but I can say that there's been a lot of tension between Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, Prosecutor Burke, and Prosecutor Lin running around constantly. They've been really stressed about this case, but I don't know why. They haven't wanted to talk about it with anybody outside of their little group, and I have to wonder what could be so important in the first place. Then again, if you guys are on the case, chances are that it's going to come out sooner or later," Prosecutor Cruz remarked with a shrug. 

"We heard that an anonymous tip was delivered to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke or somebody else involved with the investigation team... It was about the identity of the victim," Yuri said, still not looking up from Prosecutor Cruz's phone. "Would you happen to have heard anything about that?"

Prosecutor Cruz shook his head. "I don't think that I've stumbled upon anything that would be useful there. It must have been passed on directly without any of us finding out. Maybe that's part of the point. It isn't often that Chief Prosecutor Bespoke jumps on a case like this. He didn't hesitate at all to get involved with this, and given how much other work that he has to take care of, you wouldn't think that he would have time to prosecute cases directly these days," he said with a heavy frown. "I wish I could tell you what's been going on inside of his head, but he's hard to read at best and downright impossible at worst."

"But you've noticed that he's been acting different lately," I concluded. "That has to count for something... I don't know what we're supposed to do with this sort of information, but I have a bad feeling about all of this. His sudden shift in behavior must have something to do with this case, but we're going to need to do a bit more digging to find out what it is specifically that's bothering him."

"The last time that he jumped into a case like this was the case where Callie Umber was murdered," Prosecutor Cruz commented, crossing his arms. "That made sense given that she was an important high-ranking prosecutor here for a long time. Her death surprised all of us, and she had been responsible for some pretty important cases leading up to her murder. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke hasn't been involved with any cases within the trial segment since then because of how busy he is with his other duties. That should really tell you how strange this is."

I could feel my stomach starting to twist into a knot, and I glanced down to the ground. Perhaps we were asking the wrong questions. We wanted to know why Chief Prosecutor Bespoke was acting so strangely, but there was a chance that we were going about this the wrong way. For all we knew, the best way to come at this issue would have been to ask about why he was so interested in this case in the first place. It wasn't going to be an easy question to answer, but it was a shift in perspective that, while subtle, I thought could wind up being important in the long run. 

Before any of us could say anything else, the elevator let out a small ding, and I realized that somebody was coming down through the lobby. I looked over in its direction and saw none other than Mr. Morix walking out of the small room, his hands shoved in his pockets as he watched the ground. He didn't even seem to notice that we were here, and he seemed perfectly content to simply walk past us without so much as a greeting. 

Prosecutor Cruz took his phone back from Yuri, and silence fell over our entire group with the arrival of Mr. Morix. Prosecutor Cruz tucked his phone away as Yuri cleared her throat, and Mr. Morix finally shifted his gaze away from the floor below. Shock overcame his features before he managed to correct his expression back into neutrality. The brief flicker of panic that I saw in his eyes made me feel nauseous. 

"I didn't expect to see you here," Mr. Morix told us conversationally. He was clearly going for the strategy of pretending that nothing was wrong, and I had to say that this was on brand for him. He was still a master of hiding the truth, and he had been forced into such by the difficult job that he had taken on. His expression was unreadable, and all signs of surprise had been sealed away carefully. 

"We were hoping to talk to you about the case," I explained. "We were hoping that we would find you here, and I'm glad that we did. Would it be possible for you to answer a few questions for us?" I kept my expression halfway neutral while making sure that he knew that we weren't going to be tolerating it if he declined our request. 

Mr. Morix seemed to understand that resisting wasn't going to have much of a point, so he nodded. He pressed his shoulders back in a false display of confidence, and I could tell immediately that he was getting down to business. Whatever had triggered this shift in him was serious, likely far more so than any of us could have guessed starting out. "If that's the case... What is it you want to know?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so arrives the final Tuesday bonus update we'll be going back to only Thursday releases for this book next week
> 
> -Digital


	48. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 8

**November 21**

**Prosecutor's Office**

**12:35 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

As soon as I was sure that Mr. Morix wasn't going to be leaving, I nodded to myself and began to speak. "We were curious about the candle that was found at the scene of the crime. You picked it up and found something underneath it, and we were wondering if perhaps you would be willing to tell us what that thing was," I said. "It appeared to be an identification card of some sort. Would it happen to be involved with the case? Could it lead to more details being revealed regarding either the culprit or the victim?"

Mr. Morix was silent for a long time before he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer that... Not yet," he told us carefully. "I want to tell you, but I just can't do it quite yet. I need a bit more time to flatten out the details regarding everything that's happened. Please forgive me for needing more time, but I'll tell you as soon as I'm able to explain what took place."

I saw Yuri's expression pinch out of the corner of my eye, and I could tell that she was on the verge of getting snappish with him. Before she had the chance to do so, I continued. "If you truly can't explain that to us, then I must ask you... Is there anything that you know of that connects you to the victim of this case? We believe that she had a key to enter the agency, and the witness even said as much. If there's something that you two have in common, we need to hear about it as soon as possible," I continued. 

Mr. Morix hesitated before nodding. "Eileen Liyle does have her own key to the agency, yes," he eventually replied. He gave a brief glance to Prosecutor Cruz through his peripheral vision before he trained his gaze on me once again. I couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to phrase it like that. It seemed like a strange way of answering the question, but at the same time, it wasn't as if Mr. Morix was known for being completely straight when it came to answers of this nature. In fact, he was the exact opposite a majority of the time. 

"Then you do know her!" Yuri cried out, and I was grateful to see that her previous animosity seemed to have disappeared along the way. "In that case, could you please tell us about who the man with the white hair was? You know, assuming that you know him. How are you connected to the victim in the first place? We really don't know all that much about her, so any details that you can offer would be much appreciated."

"I don't know who the man with white hair was," Mr. Morix responded immediately. I could tell that he was being honest based on how effortless it was for him to make eye contact with me as he said it. "As for the victim herself... I suppose you could say that we're acquainted. She's a young defense attorney who's just been starting to break into the field. She's visited me roughly three times before to come and ask for tips about being an attorney, and I've answered her questions. There really isn't that much more to it." Once again, his gaze flickered to Prosecutor Cruz for a few crucial seconds before he could correct himself. 

I couldn't help but frown at his words, and I resisted the urge to speak about my questions openly. If there really wasn't much of a connection between Ms. Liyle and Mr. Morix, then why did she have a key to the agency? It was an honor that was reserved exclusively for the people who worked at the agency along with a select few figures who Mr. Morix had come to trust deeply over many years of working together. There weren't many people who had keys to the building in the grand scheme of things, and I had to say that I found it strange that the victim of all people would have something like that even though none of us knew her. For the most part, all of the people who had keys already knew each other, and that connection had allowed us to narrow down the potential suspects regarding the keys significantly. 

"Where have you been?" Victoria questioned next after a brief yet pointed pause. "We've been really curious about what you've been up to. It's like you just disappeared after leaving the case in Deirdre's hands, and... I guess you could say that we've been a bit concerned about this. It isn't like you to simply leave us with something that appears to be this significant. I would have expected you to take on the defense without a moment of hesitation."

"I'm afraid that something has been keeping my attention occupied, and it's made it difficult for me to look into matters regarding this case," Mr. Morix replied. "It isn't relevant right now, so you don't need to worry about it. I think that you should do everything that you can to focus on your investigation. You can come and talk to me a bit later on, and I'll see if I have any other details about the case figured out. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is something I want to help you with. I'm not working against any of you even though I'm not directly alongside you. I want to find the truth behind this case, and you can count on that much no matter what."

I nodded slowly, trying my best to process his words while not seeming blatantly suspicious. "Is there anything else that you want to tell us?" I questioned. I left the implications open, but I suspected that he understood what I was trying to say. I wanted to know if there was anything else that he was holding back from us. If he truly was trying to collaborate with us, which I assumed he was, then there had to be something else that he was trying to keep secret. 

Mr. Morix dug into his pocket and pulled something out. It was a small necklace, and I recognized it as the one that he had picked up from the scene of the crime. He unfurled his fingers to show off the charm in question, confirming my suspicions seamlessly. He let me stare at it for a moment longer before shoving it back out of view and taking a step away. "I'll tell you if there's anything else that I happen to find out along the way. Until then, I'm wishing you all luck in the investigation. It was nice seeing you," he said. His voice was almost ominous in its calmness, almost as if it was the eye of an unknown storm that was brewing within this case. I frowned to myself, but I didn't openly comment on it, knowing that it probably wouldn't get me anywhere in this particular moment. 

We all watched and waited as Mr. Morix left behind the Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutor Cruz crossed his arms and let out a small puff of air. "If you ask me, there's definitely something going on here," he remarked. "Then again, I suppose that it's easy enough to pick up on that if you know him at all. It's clear as can be that there's something else on his mind, and I don't know if it's related to this case or not."

"The necklace that he was holding was certainly the one that he picked up from the scene of the crime... But I still don't know how that ties in with everything," I murmured. "I feel like it has to be a message of some kind, but what could it possibly indicate? Then there's the matter of the identification card... He seemed pretty insistent on hiding it from us, and I feel like something of that nature has to be rather important. If it was meant to help show who somebody at the crime scene was, then it seems like pretty important evidence... Do either of you have any theories on what it could possibly mean?"

Victoria let out a gasp, and her eyes began to shine. I could tell that an idea had planted itself in her head, so I turned in her direction to listen attentively. "I know that this is sort of a strange thing for me to say, but... What if the identification card that he found happens to be for Ms. Liyle?" she questioned. "This is weird, but bear with me for a second. We still don't know who sent in the anonymous tip about who the victim was. What if Mr. Morix was the one who said that she was the one who got hurt? That means that he probably used that identification card to say for sure that she was the one who was attacked."

I nodded to myself. I had to admit that her logic made sense, but there was one thing that nagged at me. "If that's the case, then that means that all of this had to be somewhat staged... Think about it. The identification card was hiding underneath a candle, and somebody would have had to manipulate the objects at the scene of the crime in order to make it appear the way that it did," I commented. 

Yuri's expression broke out into a grin. "I think that only one person would have had the time and place to set up something like that, and it answers one of the key questions behind this case that has been causing us so many problems in the first place," she said. "The victim would have been able to do this. Why would the culprit go to all that trouble and leave he blood on the floor at the scene of the crime? Ms. Liyle must have set all of this up after the culprit was already gone. That means that she survived the attack and is out there somewhere."

"I was under the assumption that this was a murder case," Prosecutor Cruz commented, quirking an eyebrow in our direction. "It seems like a lot of important cases these days fall into that category. You mean to say that not only is the victim alive, but she staged all of this to some degree for unknown reasons? It sounds to me like something weird is going on behind the scenes here."

"Why would the victim do all of this though?" Victoria asked. "I don't understand it at all... If she was really attacked, which she clearly was, you would expect her to want to report it as soon as possible so that she wasn't hurt again. Instead, she went into hiding and has been keeping all of this secret from the rest of the world... I just don't understand it. There has to be a reason for this, but I don't know what it could be."

"If she is out there, then that means that her injury wasn't enough to kill her," I remarked, though that seemed rather obvious given the circumstances. "She has to be hiding somewhere. I can't imagine that she's simply wandering out in the open with a wound like that, so we're going to have to keep an eye out. I somehow doubt that she's just going to walk out and start to talk to us if she decided to go into hiding in the first place, but I'm still thinking that something has to be going on here."

"We'll just have to find a way to unravel the truth behind this case. If the victim is insistent on hiding her location and what happened to her, then we'll simply drag it out," Yuri declared. "It's not as if we're going to have much of an option in the matter. After all, the words of our witness are only going to get us so far. We need something else to latch on to if we're going to figure out what really happened to the victim. What we have so far just isn't enough since the man with white hair is so difficult for us to find."

"A man with white hair?" Prosecutor Cruz repeated, raising an eyebrow in one direction. "I'm going to hazard a guess here and say that you aren't talking about me, but you've mentioned this man a few times, and I have to say that I'm starting to get a little bit suspicious about it."

"The witness of this case saw the victim entering the scene of the crime, the agency, alongside a man with white hair. He was notably pale as far as we can tell, and we believe that he was the one responsible for the attack," I explained. "We don't know anything about him beyond that though. We can say that he followed the victim into the agency, but we don't have any other details."

"Speaking of the witness, I have to say that something about Ms. Lesa still bothers me," Victoria confessed. "And I'm positive that it isn't just me who feels like there's something off about her. You have to have noticed it too, right? Everything about her just seems strange. It's like she isn't paying attention but is at the same time. I get the feeling that she knows a bit more than she's letting on, and I somehow get the feeling that her supposed twisted ankle is somehow involved with all of this."

"I got the same feeling," Yuri agreed. "Then again, I don't have any solid evidence to back it up, but I'm positive that there's just something off about her. In a way, I guess that she feels oddly familiar. There's always something shiny over the upper half of her face too. I guess that she has glasses or something. I don't know." Her shoulders formed a jerky shrug before slipping back into a natural position. 

"I can't help but wonder if perhaps her issues with amnesia are tied in with this case at all," I murmured. "It certainly wouldn't surprise me if that was the truth. But how would her losing her memory be involved with something of this nature? If the culprit truly did turn his attention towards her, then you would expect there to be some traces of it. Instead, there's nothing to be found, and it leads me to believe that something is going on here that we aren't aware of."

"Even if we don't know much about her quite yet, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we were able to get at least a little bit of information out of Mr. Morix, and I really do think that his wording during our brief conversation is going to wind up being important," Victoria said confidently. "It simply has to be... He said some things in a rather strange way, and I believe that it's important for us to find any clues left behind there. If he won't tell us anything directly, then we'll just have to dig for the details when he isn't looking."

"He said that Ms. Liyle has her own key to the agency instead of simply answering yes to the question that we asked... I don't think I'm overthinking this when I say that I feel like that has to be important somehow. Why would he go out of his way to say something like that instead of taking the easy way out? That could be a clue to explain their connection, especially given that the victim really didn't seem to be all that close to him," Yuri declared. 

"I agree," I announced with a nod. "It's only a matter of time before we learn the true connection between Mr. Morix and the victim. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to paint a picture for us that we never could have seen coming... Something about all of this just strikes me as odd. I can't help but wonder what the truth behind Mr. Morix's connection to her could be. I get the feeling that it's more than simply a matter of him mentoring her. If she was really so important to him, then we would have met her before now. Instead, we have someone who we don't know having a key to the agency, and that doesn't sit well with me at all."

Yuri snorted to herself and crossed her arms. "Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here, but we might wind up having more luck with talking to Chrysalis. I mean, she and Mr. Morix are super close, and if he won't tell us anything, then we might be able to get something out of her. Of course, that's not a guarantee since she's just as cagey as he is sometimes, and arguably, she can get worse," she remarked. "Still, I guess that there's no reason that we can't try it. There are so many people acting strangely in this case, but we still haven't seen her anywhere, and that's one of the oddest things of all in my opinion. Why would she just disappear when the agency, a very important location to both her and her brother, has been placed in danger this way?"

"Why don't you call her really fast? If she picks up, then we'll find a way to get in contact with her physically," Victoria suggested. Yuri nodded her understanding and began to tap around on her phone, and all of us watched her intently. 

I was the one who broke the silence eventually, understanding that watching Yuri with such a critical gaze wasn't going to help anyone. We were going to have to take a step back and give her space to keep her from getting stressed. I had come to understand how Yuri operated over the years, and I believed this to be for the best. 

"In any case, I believe that another important thing for us to do is speak with Ms. Lesa. Perhaps we can pinpoint her specific location in the area," I pointed out. "If we find her near the agency, then she can show us the place where she was hiding when she saw the victim and culprit walk into the building together."

"Sounds perfect to me," Victoria nodded. "I think that there's something going on with her too... What could have caused her to lose her memory? It's strange... She seems to be perfectly fine with talking to us about the case, but there's still the weird cutoff point of what happened before the day of the crime. There has to be a reason behind that."

"The fact that we still don't know her true identity is concerning as well," I said next. "If she went missing upon losing her memory, then it would stand to reason that at least one person would notice that she was gone. From there, it would be reported, and it would have been possible for the truth of her identity to come to light. Instead, she's still using the fake name that she came up with at the start of the case because she doesn't know anything about who she really is. It's odd, and I feel like this is certainly something that we're going to have to put a bit more of our attention to if we want to hear the truth behind it."

Yuri let out a frustrated huff of a sigh, and she let her phone drop back into her pocket before she crossed her arms. Prosecutor Cruz shook his head, and I could tell that he had picked up on the same thing that the rest of us had. "She didn't answer," he concluded. Yuri nodded her response, and Prosecutor Cruz shoved his hands into his pockets as he watched the floor intently. I got the feeling that he was trying to come up with an explanation for this, though I doubted that he would get very far given that he didn't know Chrysalis anywhere near as well as the rest of us did. 

There were a lot of things that he, and the rest of the world, weren't aware of, and it was best that it stayed that way. 

"Of course she didn't answer," Yuri muttered bitterly. "This is the time where we need her most, but she's abandoned us... I guess that she and Mr. Morix are off doing their separate things, and they're trying to keep us from finding out anything that could potentially get in the way of whatever they're investigating. I bet that it's involved with the case, and chances are they're working towards the same goal on their own terms. It wouldn't surprise me given the way that they function. They were working alone as a duo for a long time before I started working at the agency alongside my older sister years ago."

"For now, the most that we can do is turn our attention towards the witness and see if we can learn anything more about her strange behavior," I suggested. I turned my attention towards Prosecutor Cruz and smiled. "Thank you for everything today. I really do appreciate getting the chance to talk to you again."

"It's no problem," Prosecutor Cruz shrugged. "Next time that you come by here though, you should come and see me no matter how busy you are. Plus, I want to set up a time that Kiki can come over to play with Diablo. I'm sure that she'd love him."

Yuri snorted at the name of Prosecutor Cruz's dog after recognizing Kiki as the name of the animal living in my home. "You named a blonde chihuahua Diablo?" she questioned. She didn't even bother trying to hide her laughter. When he shot her a stony glare, Yuri began to attempt to calm herself. "Okay, okay... I'll leave it alone, but only if I get to come and meet him one day too! It's so cute when he shoves his face in the blanket!"

Prosecutor Cruz sighed in resignation and shook his head at Yuri's antics. "Yeah, sure," he muttered, though I could tell that this was just his way of getting her off his back. Perhaps her chaos was just a bit much for him. "In any case, I'll see you later. Good luck finding out more about the attack. I'll be sure to tell you if anything weird happens around here."

"Thank you," I told him, a beaming smile on my face still. I waved as he disappeared in the nearby elevator, and I found myself fondly watching the place where he had been until I felt a tugging sensation on my sleeve. 

When I looked down, I could see that Yuri was watching me with her regular devilish eyes. She raised her eyebrows in my direction, and the silent implication was that I had enjoyed talking with Prosecutor Cruz far more than I should have. I rolled my eyes solely so that I didn't have to maintain eye contact with her any longer than I had to. Yuri was terrible when it came to respecting the privacy of others, a clear contrast from the habits that I had created regarding giving people their space. I should have known that she would immediately respond this way when she learned about my meetings with Prosecutor Cruz outside of work. 

"Let's just get back to the agency," I told her, doing my best to keep her from getting any other ideas. That was an added layer of chaos that I simply wasn't ready to handle, so I made my way towards the door. I ignored the blatant snickering coming from Yuri, but I had to admit that I liked hearing Victoria laugh at our banter given how tense she normally was. I took in a deep breath and allowed the peace of the moment to take over my mind. For just a little while, I knew that everything was going to be okay. The case was still a mess, but at least I had the others to rely on. 

**November 21**

**Morix Law Offices**

**1:55 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

The agency was just as messy as it had been when we were last there. The only notable difference was that the crowd of officers investigating the scene had thinned out slightly. I scanned the area with a frown on my face, trying to figure out if anything that I should have noticed had changed. It was hard to tell at a first glance, I have to admit. 

There was one shift that caught my eye a few moments after we arrived, and I frowned before nudging Deirdre with my elbow. "Hey... Is it just me, or is Detective Umber here?" I questioned, pointing one finger in the direction of the woman in question. 

Of all of the people that I had expected to be here, Detective Umber had to be one of the last. She was standing against the side of the building and scrolling through her phone, a concerned glaze over her eyes. I had to admit that it was unsettling to see her this way, and I remembered her peculiar behavior from the previous case. She had been acting off throughout that investigation too, and it had seemed like she was thinking about something that was a million miles away. We never did figure out what was bothering her though, so I wound up just dropping it when we figured out that Nevada was the culprit. We didn't have much of a choice given how confrontational and dodgy she was being about it all. 

"She looks happy," Yuri said sarcastically. "I do have to say that I wonder why she's here too... She wasn't here yesterday, and she isn't involved with the investigation of this case as far as I can tell. Detective Wattson and Detective Erikson were the ones leading the search of the scene last I checked, and I find it weird that she would just show up here without a reason."

"For all we know, she does have a reason," Deirdre pointed out. "We should talk to her before we allow ourselves to be carried away in theorizing. She must have come here to accomplish something, and I believe that finding out what that specific thing is could help our case significantly."

I nodded my agreement and started to walk in her direction. Detective Umber didn't even seem to notice that we were there, and she continued to watch her phone carefully. She seemed beyond worried, almost as if she had learned something that pushed her into paranoia. It wasn't until after Yuri coughed and raised one hand to her chest to get Detective Umber's attention that the woman bothered to look up. 

Detective Umber, to be frank, looked as if she had seen a ghost whenever she caught our eyes. She let out a yelp of surprise and fumbled with her phone, almost dropping it onto the concrete below. I was thankful for both her quick fingers and her tough case to ensure that the phone didn't completely splinter on impact. She was breathing heavily when she recovered fully, and she allowed her phone to find a home in her purse. It was a small bag that hung over her shoulders and swung back and forth when she rocked on her feet. 

"Hello," Detective Umber finally managed to say when she had somewhat regained her composure, though I could tell that she was still heavily under the influence of her own adrenaline. She coughed to try and cover up her nerves. "What are you three doing here?" After a brief pause, she let out a sigh and deflated like a balloon. "Wait, Abilene! Don't be stupid! They work here, and they're on the case!"

I glanced over to Deirdre, unable to say aloud that I was shocked by this sudden shift but clearly showing it in my eyes. I could tell that she was feeling the same, and it wouldn't have surprised me if Yuri had picked up on it as well. This was different from even the way that she had been acting during the previous case. Our agency had come into contact with her on multiple occasions now, but she hadn't ever been like this. She didn't seem to be able to calm herself down, and I knew that I wasn't the only one who found this sudden change to be unsettling. 

"We were wondering what brought you here," Deirdre explained, and Detective Umber nodded her understanding. "Are you alright? It seems to me like you're somewhat distracted by something, and you seem so nervous... Is there anything we can do to help?"

Detective Umber shook her head and gave us a nervous and shaky thumbs-up. "Nope! Absolutely nothing is going on here! I'm as fine and dandy as can be!" she cried out. She only put her hand back by her side when she saw a change in our gazes that said we wouldn't be pressing the matter. "I guess that you're here to investigate the case... I am too. Well, sort of. I just got curious about everything that's been happening, and I decided that I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help out with this investigation."

"I see," I murmured. "Is there anything that you can tell us about the case that might be helpful? If you tell us something that can be of use, perhaps we can fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the case."

Detective Umber hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... I do want to talk about the case," she replied, and I cringed upon noticing that she had blatantly avoided the question that had been posed. Something was certainly going on with her, and I wanted to know what it was. The source of her sudden confusing behavior was undoubtedly far from good, and I was determined to figure out what it could have been. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abilene is such a disaster I love her
> 
> -Digital


	49. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 9

**November 21**

**Morix Law Offices**

**2:10 PM**

**Yuri Rinko**

Deirdre was the one who started off the explanation of the case's events, something I have to admit that I naturally expected her to do given how she usually was about these sorts of things. She had always been the type to take charge, and that rang true even in this situation. "The victim was attacked in the lobby of the agency that we work at. We believe that the culprit was a man with white hair who followed the victim to the scene and used her key to follow her inside. The victim in question is widely believed to be Eileen Liyle," Deirdre began to explain. 

Detective Umber's reaction was immediate, and it sent a shiver sprinting up my spine. Her eyes went wide with shock before she managed to cover it up. "I... I see," she forced herself to say, but I knew that there was something going on. It was as clear as could be given how pale she had been, even if the reaction had only lasted for a second. 

"Is something the matter?" Victoria questioned, seemingly have picked up on the same thing that I had. "You look awfully nervous all of a sudden... If you know something about the case, then you can go on and tell us about it. We can use all of the help that we can get to find the truth, you know."

Detective Umber shook her head. "There's nothing to worry about. I promise. I guess it just surprised me to hear that there was somebody with white hair involved with all of this. You don't see many people with that hair color around here," she explained with a shrug that was trying to lighten the mood but instead only made her look more tense than ever before. 

"That's true," I agreed. The only person that I knew with white hair and pale skin had been Cassidy, but she had been gone for a while now. She didn't fit the description of the victim's assailant either given that her hair wasn't even completely white; it had streaks of black in it before her death. Plus, she was far too small and frail to fit the description. She had supposedly gotten the white hair from our father, not that I would be able to confirm nor deny such a thing. After all, our mother had dark brown hair with pink highlights, something that she passed onto Venus but not me or Cassidy. Then again, who cared to think about my father much? He hadn't mattered for a long time as far as I was concerned, and he wouldn't be important until he crawled out of the hole he had disappeared into shortly after I was born. 

I shook myself free of those thoughts as Detective Umber continued. "Is there anything else that you know about the culprit that might help to put the pieces together?" she questioned. She still seemed nervous, but she was doing a better job of hiding it this time around. She began to fiddle around with a piece of her hair, likely because she wanted something to occupy her hands while she was as anxious as she was. 

"Hm... I can't think of anything," I remarked with a loose shrug. The fact that the culprit was likely on a tight timeframe was one fact, but that wasn't exactly going to do us much good in the long term. Detective Umber was clueless as to the facts of this case. It was why she was asking us about it all in the first place. 

"Would you happen to know anything about the culprit of this case?" Victoria asked. I got the feeling that she was just as sure as I was that Detective Umber was involved with all of this somehow, not that I could blame her for jumping to such a conclusion. Detective Umber seemed so unnaturally anxious, and given how perky and upbeat we were used to her being, it offered a serious case of mood whiplash that didn't settle well with any of us. 

Detective Umber was silent for a long moment, simply staring at us all. When she finally snapped out of her trance, she shook her head violently. "I don't... I don't know anything," she forced herself to say. "Why would I? It's not like I'm all that involved with the affairs of your agency, and if anybody I knew was acting strangely, then I would have noticed it by now. I promise that there's nothing that you should hear about that you aren't already aware of. Everything is just fine."

That was most certainly a lie. In fact, it was the easiest time I had ever had determining if something was a lie or not. She was so blatantly nervous that it was obvious something was wrong, and she had only gotten so much worse after hearing about the fact that the culprit most likely had white hair. Sure, she had been acting off before that, but the change was immediate and bothersome. She had to be aware of something involving the truth behind this case. 

"You know... You were acting kind of strange during the previous case too," Victoria remarked. "The last one that our agency was on, I mean. I could see pretty clearly that something was bugging you, but I didn't want to press the matter in case that was something that I shouldn't have done... Are you sure that everything is alright? You do know that it's alright to say something when you're being bothered by the events of a case, right?"

"I'm not bothered at all!" Detective Umber exclaimed. "Besides, how would I know anything about this case? I wasn't here when it took place, and I had an alibi for the time of the crime too! Everything is peachy and perfect!" She glanced down at her wrist, almost as if she was checking for the time on a watch. Her ruse was easy to see through though because she wasn't wearing a watch, and my frown only grew heavier and darker as she continued in a panicked haze. "Look at the time! I had better get going. I'll see all of you guys later!"

Detective Umber didn't give any of us a chance to respond, and she ran off in the direction of her car before we could come up with anything to say that would make her stop. She vanished from sight in the blink of an eye, and I realized after she had started to run away that trying to reason with her when she was like this wasn't going to have much of a point. Something was bothering her, and as far as I could tell, it was something that she was going to have to take care of on her own time without the interference of our defense team. 

Deirdre crossed her arms and glanced at me first before she shifted her gaze to Victoria. That was her way of saying that she was fully aware of something being wrong, and I knew that look well after all of the years that we had spent working together. Deirdre shook her head. "I believe that we've all come to the same conclusion," she said simply, not bothering to elaborate. It wasn't as if she had to in the first place; I was frowning to show that I understood as well, and Victoria looked as transparently worried as a person possibly could have. 

"What are we even supposed to do to work around something like this?" I questioned. "It's not like we can just force her to talk. She made it pretty clear a moment ago that if we try to corner her, she's just going to run away. I don't think that we'll be able to do anything to force her away from hiding all of this..."

"If we want to find the truth, we might have to ask an outside party," Victoria pointed out. "Her brother is always an option, though I don't know where we would start to make him talk to us. It's not like we know him all that well, and he's not going to want to talk to us if he thinks that Detective Umber is in the right for keeping all of this a secret from us, you know?"

"We'll consider it a bit later," Deirdre said firmly. "For the time being, I think that we should focus our attention on other matters. To be more specific, I believe that we should try to get Ms. Lesa to talk to us. I can't imagine that she's far from here. If she's the only witness to this case like we've been led to believe, then that means that she has to be in a place that's easy for anyone to access at a given moment."

"Perfect," I agreed with a nod. She was right when she said that we were going to have to talk to Ms. Lesa sooner or later about everything that was going on, but I still didn't exactly want to. If I could have had my way, I would have made sure that we pressed Detective Umber until she revealed the truth about everything that had been bothering her, but that wasn't exactly an option. She was just going to keep running away until she was comfortable with talking. Besides, if this was really connected to the case like we thought it was, then we would probably wind up hearing about it sooner or later anyways. That was usually how these sorts of things worked out when it came to cases of this nature. 

The search for Ms. Lesa didn't take as long as I had been expecting. She was standing around the back of the building, and she was looking down at her phone with a distant expression. Her eyes had gone glassy, but she didn't seem to notice in the slightest. At first, she didn't even see us, too busy staring down at the phone. 

However, there was one thing about the situation that struck me as odd. Even though she was watching the phone intently, there was nothing that resembled shock or confusion in her gaze. Given the fact that she had amnesia, one would have expected her to use a phone to try and figure out who she had been before she lost her memory. Instead, all she seemed to want to do was stare at it, and that certainly didn't sit well with me at all. 

In fact, there was more to it than that. If Ms. Lesa had amnesia but also had her phone on her, then she could have used it to get into contact with people who would have been able to tell her who she was. Why did she choose to not do that? It wouldn't exactly do much to restore her lost memories, but it would at least offer an explanation as to her true identity, and that was a good place to start when it came to uncovering the truth behind something of this nature. 

Ms. Lesa didn't notice that we were there until after we had come to a stop about three feet away. When Ms. Lesa glanced up to see us, her eyes went wide with shock, and she frantically turned off her phone and shoved it away and out of sight. "I didn't expect to see you here," she commented, her voice oddly even and blunt. In fact, her voice had gotten a bit lower since the last time that we had spoken. Ms. Lesa's voice wasn't particularly high in the first place, but it sounded far more grounded all of a sudden. 

"We came by to talk to you," I explained simply, glancing down at the pocket where she had shoved her phone away. She didn't seem to be eager to offer an explanation for that, and if she noticed that I was staring, she chose to ignore it. In fact, I was positive that she was aware of how I was watching her. Everything about her gaze had suddenly grown sharp and hardened. She was trying to hide something deliberately, and she wasn't going to stand for any of us getting in the way of such an endeavor. 

"What is it?" Ms. Lesa questioned. Her voice returned to its previous airy form, and I found myself frowning even more than before. Something was wrong. Why had her voice shifted for such a brief period of time? It simply didn't make sense in the slightest. 

"We would like to hear more about what you saw at the time of the crime," Victoria replied. "Would you be able to take us to the spot where you saw the man with white hair enter the building alongside the victim? Any details that you can offer us will be helpful. That much I can promise you."

Ms. Lesa watched us for a long time, simply allowing the silence to set in, before she nodded and started to walk away. I could see the lightness one of her feet now, but it didn't match the way that I would have anticipated someone to treat a sprain in the slightest. She was doing her best to keep from putting weight on it, but if it brought her any pain, she was choosing to mask it. Part of me was starting to wonder if she had even sprained her ankle in the first place, though I knew that calling her out on such would be pointless given how cagey and defensive she was by nature. 

Ms. Lesa was silent as she took us across the parking lot in front of the agency. The agency was the only building that faced in its specific direction in the lot, and all of the other buildings chose to keep a wide berth from it while facing away. The nearest apartment complex, one that rested on the other side of the parking lot, faced the opposite direction while all back doors and balconies were in the direction of the agency's entrance. It was almost entertaining how everyone and everything in the area, including the structures themselves, appeared to be ignoring the agency's existence. 

I had heard of the reason for that in the past from Chrysalis, as a matter of fact. The buildings looking away was a funny coincidence, but most people chose to ignore the agency because of the rumors that it was haunted. When I asked her about it further, Chrysalis confirmed that the building was, as a matter of fact, haunted by some sort of spirit that she could sense due to being a medium, albeit an inexperienced one. That was the reason that the building had come relatively cheap; the rumors kept everyone from even wanting to get close to it. I cringed at the reminder of Chrysalis, and I wondered what it was that she was doing that kept her so far away from the rest of us investigating the case. I was desperate to talk to her, and her absence was really starting to bug me. 

Ms. Lesa stopped walking while I was lost in thought over Chrysalis and Mr. Morix's strange and avoidant behavior. She had taken us to about the same spot that I expected her to, and she stood behind a sidewalk near a small cluster of bushes hiding among a green expanse of grass that surrounded the nearby apartment complex. Ms. Lesa turned towards the agency, and she motioned to the parking lot leading up to the entrance. I tried my best to imagine that woman with red hair and the man with white hair following that path and entering the building. I found it difficult given the fact that I still didn't know the appearance of the woman all that well aside from the fact that she had red hair, so I just allowed myself to let go of the idea. 

"This is about where I was at the time," Ms. Lesa answered. "I don't believe that anybody involved with the case noticed me as they were entering the building. I hope that this paints a fine enough picture of what happened as I watched the entrance."

I nodded my understanding, but I was barely paying attention to what she was saying. Instead, I walked around the back of the bushes and looked down to the place where the plants met the ground. I didn't know why Ms. Lesa would have wanted to hide behind the bush if she was just watching everything that happened. I couldn't see anything that stuck out to me as notable among the branches. I assumed silently that the supposed sprain of her ankle had likely happened when her foot wound up caught among the branches in the aftermath of her time hiding there. That was what I was choosing to believe, at the very least. I didn't have any evidence, but that was why she was there. We could take this chance to ask her. 

"What did you do precisely when you were in this area?" Deirdre questioned, pulling me away from my thoughts seamlessly. I glanced up to see that she was watching Ms. Lesa with an intense gaze, almost as if she was trying to pin the woman in place with her eyes. 

If Ms. Lesa noticed the fire in Deidre's eyes, she chose to not acknowledge it, and she forced her gaze down to the ground. "I was walking on the sidewalk, and then I saw the man and woman walking towards the agency. Something about them struck me as odd, so I decided to hide behind the bush. When I got up some time later, my ankle got caught in the branches, and I pulled on it," she explained. "That was how I wound up with the sprain. I was sitting outside of the agency like this for quite some time, but I'm sure you were able to figure that much out."

"Nobody questioned you on why you were here either?" I asked, looking over to the nearby apartment complex. I certainly would have expected somebody to notice given the time of morning when the crime took place. Most people who worked would have been getting up and preparing to set out for a day on the job. The idea that nobody saw Ms. Lesa while she was keeping an eye on the agency's door sat strangely in my stomach. There was no way that something like that was possible as far as I was concerned, but I wasn't going to call her out on that for that sort of thing quite yet. I wanted evidence first, and agitating her wasn't going to be the best way for us to find the truth. 

Ms. Lesa hesitated before shaking her head. "No... Nobody saw me," she explained. "I suppose that nobody wanted to look out their window the day of the crime. The building faces the opposite direction, and it wasn't as if everyone was ready to check out their balconies. I guess that they were busy with other subjects."

That was most certainly suspicious. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. "That's..." I began to say, but I did my best to shove my worries out of my voice to keep from freaking her out. "Are you absolutely positive that nobody saw you? You have no doubts on the subject?"

Ms. Lesa nodded. "I'm sure of it. Nobody saw me the day of the crime," she replied. There was a strange wavering quality that her voice had taken on, and I could see that she suddenly looked a lot dizzier than before. She avoided my gaze to look down to the ground where the bush was, and her eyes narrowed once again, almost as if she was trying to will herself into focusing. 

I looked over to Deirdre and waited for her to say something. She crossed her arms before offering a response to Ms. Lesa. "Thank you for your explanation of what happened," she said simply. She was doing a way better job of hiding her concern and suspicion, and I silently thanked her for being better when it came to acting than I was. 

"Is there anything else you need of me?" Ms. Lesa questioned. I saw her lean back and forth between her feet, and she winced when she accidentally put too much weight on her bad foot. She looked back over to the apartment complex once again, and I saw her eyes narrow at something positioned on the side of the building. She snapped out of it soon afterwards, but she kept on glancing over at the subject of her worries despite the shift of focus. 

"I don't believe so," Victoria answered, providing a smile in Ms. Lesa's direction. "Thank you for speaking with us. We have a few other matters to investigate at the moment, so we'll leave you to the rest of your day. Thank you again for everything. We'll see you once again in the courtroom."

Ms. Lesa nodded before taking a step back and walking away. I watched as she limped into the crowd, and I sighed when she completely disappeared from view. I looked up to Deirdre and Victoria before letting out a small scoff. "That whole interaction was... Incredibly suspicious," I said offhandedly. 

Deirdre crouched down once again beside the bush, and she brushed her fingers along the surface of the greenery. "There are no branches that stick out from this plant," she commented softly. "In fact, everything seems rather compact on this bush. I wonder how she got her ankle caught on a branch to sprain it in the first place... I find it rather odd."

"Maybe there was a branch here that we simply aren't seeing now," Victoria offered, but I could still hear the doubt in her voice. "I mean, if she got her ankle stuck, then she could have pulled the branch off the plant when she tried to get free. That would certainly explain the lack of a branch on the outside of the plant..."

"But that would leave behind a twig to show that it had happened. There would be a sign of breakage in the plant as well, and yet, there's nothing," Deirdre pointed out. "If you ask me, Ms. Lesa's injury came from something else entirely, and she didn't want to tell us about it."

"If she got the sprain before she lost her memory, then she would have simply said that there was something that happened out of her reach," I murmured. "Instead, she said something that was false to try and keep us from finding out the truth. She wanted to excuse it because she's aware of what happened and doesn't want anybody to be aware of it. I bet that it has unfortunate implications that would work against her."

"But what could she be trying to hide?" Victoria questioned. "I just don't get it. I mean, there has to be something if what you guys think is to be believed, but at the same time... I don't know. It just bothers me that she could want to hide something like this. We've been trying to find the truth, but it's awfully hard to do something like that when she's actively fighting against our efforts to find the truth."

"What was she even looking at during our conversation?" I asked, looking up to the nearby apartment building. I flicked my gaze desperately across the outside walls to try and identify the source of her random distress, and a gasp left my lips when I finally figured it out. At long last, we had something that we would be able to use to figure out the truth behind this case!

It was small because of how high it was, but I could see a camera positioned around the backside of the building in the upper corner of someone's balcony. It was pointed down directly at the surrounding grounds, and if I had to guess, I would have said that it was a security measure of some kind. The people who owned the building were trying to keep others from causing problems. 

"It was the security camera," Victoria realized, and I could tell that everything was coming together for her too. "But why would she be so freaked out by something like that? It would be able to verify her story, and it would keep us from getting so suspicious of what she was up to at the time."

"I think that it's because what she claimed happened is actually false," Deirdre replied. "And that camera unravels everything that she's been trying to tell us about. It's not true, and she knows that we're going to figure that out as soon as we're made aware of the camera. Her getting nervous at the sight of it only proves such a point as far as I'm concerned, and it leaves you to wonder... Just what exactly did happen at the time of the crime? Why is she trying to hide it from us?"

"And who is Ms. Lesa behind that false name?" I questioned. "You guys must have seen the way that she was messing with her phone earlier, right? She was tapping through things and looking at it until we showed up, and then she seemed pretty excited to hide it and act like she hadn't been messing around with anything in the first place."

"If she has her phone, then you would expect her to at least be vaguely aware of who she is as a person, but instead, she's just hiding everything from us," Victoria muttered. "I mean, you could use something like that as a way to figure out who she actually is, but she decided to hide it instead. That doesn't sit well with me at all, and I wish that I knew how we were supposed to force her to start talking about what happened at the time of the crime. I'm starting to think that she's been lying a lot more than we were originally expecting."

"She's the only witness for this case," Deirdre pointed out. "All of our assumptions about the crime up to this point have been because of her words about what she believed happened at the time. There's nothing else for us to rely on because of the lack of evidence... I don't know why she would want to lie. She has no stake in this as far as I can tell. How is she tied in with the culprit or victim? It doesn't make any sense."

"There's something going on here, and we have to get to the bottom of it," I said confidently before turning my attention up to the nearby camera once again. "I'm going to call Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and see if I can get him to figure out what that camera saw at the time of the crime. We're going to need that sort of evidence if we want to pin down what Ms. Lesa has been lying about. As far as I can tell, she's been hiding a lot from us, and the sooner that we can figure out the extent of her lies, the sooner we'll be able to put together the other pieces behind this case."

Deirdre and Victoria both nodded to themselves, and I let out a sigh as I dug my phone out of my pocket. None of this made any sense to me. Just who was Ms. Lesa, and why was she involved with this case at all? Her track record with keeping secrets was starting to bug me, and I was starting to think that perhaps she was the reason that we couldn't figure out anything else where this case was concerned. She was the padlock that kept the truth from coming to light, and I absolutely hated that idea. 

Deirdre looked back up to the camera with a thoughtful look on her face. I got the feeling that she was thinking something similar to what I was. "I think that the better question behind this case involves why she would feel the need to lie in the first place. It's clear that she did, but we still don't understand her motive for that. If we can find out why she has such a personal stake in this, then we'll be able to unfold other secrets behind everything that's going on," she commented. 

"I agree," Victoria nodded. "We're going to need to figure out what's going on with her thought process though... I have to wonder if she has amnesia like she's been claiming. Everyone has been more than happy to accept that as an explanation, and the prosecution seemed very quick to go on with the idea that the victim was this Eileen Liyle person. I don't know... It just bothers me."

"At the very least, Ms. Lesa's claims about Ms. Liyle being the victim make sense... Unless she was the one who sent in the anonymous tip... Ugh, this is all so complicated!" I cried out, letting my hands fly up to my temples to start massaging frantically. This case was definitely bothering me, and I wanted nothing more than to just find the truth and move on with my life. 

"Let's go and see Lily for now," Deirdre suggested. "I think that leaving this place behind will do us some good, and for all we know, Sky and Felicity could have figured something else out. We can worry about the camera tomorrow. Yuri, go on and make the call."

I nodded and began to tap around on my phone until the ringing began, and I pressed the device to my ear. While I waited for Chief Prosecutor Bespoke to pick up, I frowned bitterly. I didn't like the direction that this case was going in the slightest, and I wanted it to be over as son as possible. 

"Ms. Lesa had better start telling the truth soon, because I don't know how much more of this I can take," I muttered with a shake of my head. "I hate this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School bad update good
> 
> -Digital


	50. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 10

**November 21**

**Detention Center**

**3:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

The detention center was much the same way that it was the day before. Felicity and Sky were sitting on one side of the glass with Lily on the other. She was focused on other things as far as I could tell, but her face still lit up as soon as she saw me with Deirdre and Yuri. Lily waved excitedly and gestured for us to sit down as soon as we could. I couldn't help but smile at her optimism despite the notable streaks of darkened skin beneath her eyes. She was tired, but she was still trying to put on a brave face. It was almost twisted how fitting that was of her to do. 

When I settled down alongside my coworkers, I could see that Felicity looked concerned. Sky appeared to be much the same way, but neither of them seemed to be ready to openly phrase it. I found my smile faltering as soon as I realized that there was something wrong. I didn't know how to approach the subject, so I simply sat there in the awkward silence. 

"What's going on?" Deirdre finally questioned when she was able to get a decent hold on her emotions. Her gaze was intense, and I found myself glancing away to keep from accidentally meeting her eyes. 

"Mr. Morix came by earlier," Felicity eventually explained. "He said that he wanted to see how we were doing, and he seemed super tense. I wish I could tell you why he was so upset, but something was going on that he wasn't talking about."

"Mr. Morix simply asked if we knew anything about the case or had any clues as to who the man with white hair was. When he had checked in and understood that we were just as clueless as he was, he pulled away and decided to leave us be for the rest of the afternoon," Sky replied. "I wish I could tell you about why this was, but like Felicity said, we don't know in the slightest what could be bothering him."

I resisted the urge to sigh in frustration. Mr. Morix was certainly starting to bother us with how little he was communicating. I didn't know what to do about all of this, and approaching the matter wasn't going to be easy due to how dodgy he was. "What do we do to make him talk about this?" I questioned softly. I knew that nobody was going to have an easy answer to that question for us, but I found myself asking regardless. 

"I don't know," Felicity answered with a loose shrug and a forced smile. "But I don't think that matters much right now. What have you all found out about the case? I get the feeling that you're coming with some pretty intense news."

"We think that there's something going on with the witness, but I feel like that's pretty obvious given how weirdly she's been acting this whole time," Yuri snorted. "I already reached out to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke to try and see if he would be able to check out the subject of the camera that we found. With how nervous she was, I have to wonder if perhaps he knew that something was going to fall apart when we poked the bear of the camera."

"That's certainly suspicious," Sky agreed with a small nod. "I didn't even realized that there was a camera in the area... What exactly is that about? What did you talk about with her?"

"The camera was found on the side of the nearby apartment complex. According to Ms. Lesa, she was hiding in the bushes at the time of the crime, and that was when she saw everything unfold from afar," Deirdre explained. "As soon as she noticed the camera though, she got anxious and ran off as soon as she had the chance to do so. I don't know what do about it all... Something is wrong, but how are we meant to figure out what is specifically causing her panic?

"She must have lied to you about what happened, and the camera was going to blow all that open," Felicity concluded simply. With how casually she said it, you would have been expecting her to talk about something basic like the weather as opposed the key witness of a murder case. 

"I suspect something similar," Deirdre murmured with a nod. "But that leads you to wonder about what she was lying about in the first place. I don't know what motive she would have to lie. She's been pretty confident about her words, and it isn't as if anybody else knows about what happened... Her leg injury is something else rather strange."

"We don't know where it came from," I explained. "You see, she claimed to have sprained it, but we suspect that there was something more. The bush that she was supposedly hiding behind didn't fit the description of what she told us about in the slightest during the trial. There were no broken branches either, and you would expect at least something to have fallen off when she tried to pull herself free of the bush."

"Yeah, that definitely makes it sound like she's been lying to you about at least some small things," Felicity muttered as she crossed her arms. "But at least you'll be able to get access to the camera through the prosecution, and that should make it easier for you to poke holes in her story and show that she's been less than honest about all of this."

"That's true," Yuri nodded. "I'm positive that Chief Prosecutor Bespoke is going to come through on this. He's been so intense throughout this entire case, and I feel like he's got a personal stake in this somehow. Given how heavily involved he is, I bet that he's going to find a way to unveil the truth like that to us, and that will make it easier for everything to come to light."

"The camera seems to be a key piece of evidence here... The other stuff that we know about is just strange and doesn't seem to add up," Sky remarked. "There's the strange behavior from Mr. Morix and the prosecution, but that's hardly conclusive evidence. We don't know why they're so upset, but we'll hopefully find the truth along the way somehow."

"We can actually add one more person to the list of those who have been acting oddly," I told him. "Detective Umber showed up at the scene of the crime, and she was even more antsy than she was during the previous case. I have to wonder if perhaps she knows something about what's been going on... Maybe it could have something to do with her nervousness from before too. We never figured out what that was about, so you never know."

"I wonder what's bothering her," Lily said, frowning as she glanced down to the floor. "If there's really something nagging at her that she thinks is related to the case, then we have to figure out what it is as soon as possible. It's not like there's all that much evidence to show what exactly is going on here."

"I wish that we had at least one little lead about what we can expect from here on out," I sighed. "It's not going to be easy to figure out the truth, but I just want a starting point that can point us in the right direction."

"If all goes well, the starting point that we need will be found on the camera footage that we get from the prosecution. I bet that Chief Prosecutor Bespoke will have it ready by the time the trial starts tomorrow because of how fired up he's been ever since this case started," Yuri pointed out. "We can hope for that outcome at the very least."

"I can imagine that he'll be ready for it," Deirdre said confidently. "I agree that there's something off about the way that he's been behaving. Prosecutor Burke, Mr. Morix, and Prosecutor Lin have also been acting strangely as of late, and I can't help but wonder if perhaps they're tied in with all of this somehow. I wonder what common thread could possibly connect those four people with Detective Umber... Perhaps there's something that we aren't aware of that links them."

"I would say that I couldn't see that happening, but at the same time, we didn't know about Ms. Liyle, and she apparently had a key to the agency all along," Yuri remarked with a snort. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

I gasped at the memory of our earlier conversation with Mr. Morix. "You know... He said that she had her own key, but that was all that he told us. If you ask me, he was intentionally vague because he was trying to hint at something. How would she have her own key if she wasn't actually given a key to the agency? That appears to be the primary question for us to figure out."

Deirdre shook her head. "I wish that I could answer that, but for the time being, we're going to have to bank our victory on what we can find out from the camera footage that the prosecution is working to gather for us," she declared. "Ms. Lesa is part of this mystery somehow, and we need to figure out how she ties in with it all. Why is she so intent on hiding key facts from us? That's one important thing for us to figure out as soon as possible if we want to find the truth behind this case."

"The victim is another mystery that we have yet to figure out," I reminded her. "We believe right now that the victim is alive. We spoke about it with Prosecutor Cruz when we went to the Prosecutor's Office earlier today, and we are confident that the victim is out there somewhere. We aren't sure of where she is or why she would have left in the first place, but we're going to have to figure that fact out one way or another."

Lily's expression turned to shock, and she let out a sigh. "I suppose that you did say that there was a chance that she was alive... But what's the point of hiding everything if she's alive? There would be an easy way for the culprit to be uncovered if she came forward and said everything that she knew about the case. She would be able to identify the one responsible for her attack, and it's not like we would have a reason to not believe her," she murmured. 

Deirdre's eyes went wide, and she met her gaze with mine. I could tell that we had come to the same conclusion based on the way that Lily had phrased her previous inquiry. "What if the victim doesn't know who attacked her?" Deirdre questioned. "All that we've heard so far is that the one responsible was a man with white hair, but the details are unknown. If Ms. Lesa isn't aware of who the culprit is, then there's a chance that the victim isn't sure of his identity either. A man with white hair is hardly a close enough description to say exactly who was responsible for a case."

"If the victim didn't know who the culprit was, then she might have held back for a while until she was able to find the truth behind her situation," I concluded as Deirdre nodded her agreement. "I don't know how we're supposed to prove that though... Then again, we don't exactly have much to work off in this case, so who can say for sure? Maybe we'll just need to propose that idea. That could help everything to work out from there."

"We've got quite a bit to keep in mind surrounding this case then," Sky commented with a nervous laugh. "As of now, we know that the victim is alive, but we aren't sure of where she is or what she knows. The witness could have been lying about the case up to this point, but we don't know what her motivations for such a thing would have been. Plus, she has amnesia, and that severely limits our capacity to learn more from her..."

"There's a lot at play here, that's for sure," I murmured. "The camera footage is going to be where we start tomorrow, and I think that it's a wise place to start our investigation. I don't know where we can even go from here if I'm being honest. There are too many holes in this case, and we don't have the slightest idea about how to start patching them up... I hope that the victim comes out of hiding soon to tell us all about what she knows about the case."

Yuri's expression made it clear that she felt the same way, and she rose to her feet as she stretched her arms over her head. "If you ask me, there's nothing else that we're going to be able to figure out. You said it yourself, Victoria. There are too many holes, and we don't have any ideas about how to start patching them up. Part of me even wonders if there's a way for us to find the truth without speaking to the victim directly. Ms. Lesa's strange behavior as of late makes me wonder if we can even trust her testimony, so we're going to have to be careful to not rely on her words too much."

"It's easier said than done to not count on her words too much given that she's all that we have right now, but we're going to have to find a way to work around it," Deirdre announced as she rose to her feet. She gave a kind smile in Lily's direction. "I hope that the detention center has been treating you well. We're going to find a way to get you out of there soon."

Lily let out a small laugh and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm doing about as well as I can be, but I know that everything is going to be fine soon enough. You're going to figure out what happened, and all of the pieces will start to slide into place," she replied. "You should all go on and get some rest for the trial tomorrow. I can already tell that there's going to be a lot waiting for you, and I don't want you to be unprepared for any reason."

I gave her a nod of gratitude as I started to make my way towards the door with Yuri and Deirdre. She was right about us having a lot on our plates. This case certainly wasn't making it easy for us, but we still had to find a way to figure out what was happening. The agency was counting on it, and Lily was in much the same position. The truth was going to come out one way or another. We were going to make sure of that. It was just a matter of time. 

**November 22**

**Defendant Lobby No. 6**

**9:30 AM**

**Lily Shield**

The first thing that I noticed when I arrived in the defendant lobby the next day was the fact that Yuri was nervous about something. 

It wasn't as if this was completely unheard of or anything. After all, many people were prone to getting nervous or anxious about various matters, and Yuri was no exception. However, there was something off about her this time that simply didn't sit well with me, and I couldn't help but feel like there was something I wasn't seeing. She wasn't able to sit still at all, constantly squirming on the couch in the defendant lobby. Granted, it wasn't as if she was the type to stay in one place on a good day, but something about it all just felt off. 

"What's going on with you?" I asked as I approached Yuri, Deirdre, and Victoria. Sky and Felicity had been talking in another part of the lobby, but they walked closer upon realizing that I had arrived. 

"I got the news back about the camera footage from the day of the crime. We talked about that when we were at the detention center yesterday, right?" Yuri questioned. When I nodded, she sighed and glanced down at the ground before continuing. "I don't really know what to say about it all... But it's not good. I feel like there are too many things about this case that we don't know though, and I'm not sure about how we can even go about figuring out what this lie is even meant to mean."

I felt my heart skip a beat. "What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to stifle the sinking feeling in my stomach. "You're making it sound like the camera footage is going to completely destroy the case as you've been thinking about it up to this point... Please don't let that be the case. I don't know what we could possibly do if that's the case."

"I don't think that I should tell you then," Yuri told me. "You aren't going to want to hear about it... It does change everything that we've been working towards, and it's not good at all. Then again, I feel like you can already see that much. You're smart enough to put the pieces together, but... I don't know what to say about it beyond the fact that it isn't good at all."

I glanced up to Victoria and Deirdre, ready to ask if they knew what she was talking about, but Victoria cut me off with a shrug before I could even form the words. "I don't know what it is that has her so worried. She hasn't said anything about it beyond what she just told you. She says that it's really bad, but she hasn't told us what it is specifically," she explained. I could sense the tension in her voice, and I resisted the urge to bite down on my lip in anxiety. I already had an awful feeling about all of this, and all I could do was hope that it ultimately amounted to nothing and that Yuri was just being paranoid all of a sudden. She could be easily swept up in her imagination at times, so I prayed that was all that this was, but I think that a little part of me already knew that I was hoping for too much. 

"As of now, we still want to assume that the victim is alive and somewhere out there," Deirdre told me, effortlessly changing the subject when she noticed how uncomfortable Yuri was. We were going to be hearing about what the cameras had shown soon enough, likely after the trial got into session, so there wasn't much of a reason for her to push it. I doubted that there was anything that we would have been able to do that would work around whatever it was that had Yuri so worried in the first place. If it was really as bad as she was making it sound, then we were going to have to just wait to see what happened when the trial started properly. 

"I feel like we're going to have to figure out where the victim is and why she hid all of this first and foremost," Victoria concluded. "That's a nice place for us to start in figuring out everything that's going on with this case... Of course, I don't know where we're supposed to start in all of that, but it's something to at least know where we're going to be headed with all of this, right?"

"The victim not knowing who the culprit is could be an interesting angle to look at this case from, and there's a chance that it could be correct," Sky interjected. "I think that it's at least worth considering. It's not as if the victim would have been able to say who attacked her if she wasn't aware of the truth in the first place, you know? That would have left an awfully large hole in the idea that we already came up with regarding if the victim was alive."

"The victim being alive and not knowing who the culprit is could certainly make sense," Felicity agreed with a nod. "I don't really know what we're supposed to do with that kind of information though... I mean, unless we can find out where the victim has been hiding out all this time, that sort of knowledge probably won't do much to help us out. There's so much that we have to figure out regarding this case, and the victim is probably our best point to start with when it comes to finding the culprit. It's a shame that she's been so elusive ever since the attack took place in the agency..."

"We could also start with the footage that was on the camera," Yuri snorted with a shake of her head and a roll of her eyes. "Actually... No. That's not a good way for me to phrase it. I should say that it's about the footage that wasn't on the camera. That's far more accurate given the circumstances of everything that's happening at the moment."

"Something wasn't on the camera that should have been," Deirdre concluded, closing her eyes as she was absorbed in her own thoughts. Her eyes shot open a moment later, and she winced at the realization. "I think I know what you heard about... You heard from Chief Prosecutor Bespoke what was on the camera's tape, and it isn't a matter of what could be seen through the video feed. Something important was missing from the video, and I'm willing to bet that I know exactly what it is."

Sky's jaw dropped, and he shook his head. "No way... That would be..." He didn't try to mount a defense beyond those simple few words, seeming to realize that there was nothing he would be able to do to fend off the truth. He let out a sigh, and his shoulders sagged forward. "As much as I hate to admit it, that could be the truth..."

"If you're trying to say that you don't think Ms. Lesa was on the video feed, then..." Felicity began, her eyes as wide as saucers. "I don't get it. Why would she lie about all of that? She must have a reason for it. She has to know that she's our only hope to figure out what's goin on in this case, but she still decided to lie to us about everything. Why would she do something like that?"

"There has to be a reason," Deirdre concluded, frowning as one of her hands moved up to cup at her chin. "And finding her motives for such a thing has to be our priority. We need to know why she would want to lie about something so crucial. She's the only witness that we have for this case, but she still lied about being at the scene of the crime at the time of the attack. There has to be a reason for all of it. I somehow believe that this is the most important fact of the case, and if there's no other fact that we have to figure out, then we need to know this. At the very least, we have to find the truth behind why she wanted to lie so much about such an important subject."

I nodded my agreement. I already had an awful feeling about this, not that I wanted to say anything about it out loud. Everyone else was stressed enough as it was, and I didn't want to add to that if I could avoid it. If Ms. Lesa was lying about being at the scene of the crime, then why had she decided to falsify so much of her testimony? I somehow doubted that this was all just for kicks. After all, her description of the victim just so happened to match up perfectly with the appearance of Eileen Liyle, the woman whose name was provided by the anonymous tipper. 

Speaking of them, who in the world were they? I was positive that they had to factor in with all of this somehow, but I didn't have even an inkling of where to start when it came to finding a suspect. If Ms. Lesa knew who the victim was, then why didn't she just say so? She had amnesia, so that could have explained why she didn't know the victim's name, but that meant the person who sent in the tip was completely different from the witness who was posing so many issues for us. I wasn't sure about what I was supposed to do with this information, but I was positive that it was important. Everything about this case was confusing and a pure mess, but it had to come together somehow. There had to be a common thread that linked all of the different pieces of this case, and we had to figure out what it was as soon as possible. 

"Who in the world sent in the anonymous tip about the victim's identity?" I questioned. "I don't think that the culprit would have wanted to do that. It doesn't make sense for the culprit to expose their victim if it would have made it clearer that they were involved with the case. It would have made it easier for the truth to be unraveled, and I don't think that any kind of culprit would want something like that."

"I wish I could tell you," Victoria answered after a brief pause and a shrug of her shoulders. "I have no idea myself. I get the feeling that the one responsible for it is heavily involved with this case though. I can't imagine that they're completely unrelated to everything that we've been investigating. That doesn't mean that I have any ideas, but... Still, it's something for us to think about."

"We're going to just have to try and figure it out one way or another," Yuri announced. "There's so much that we don't understand, and it's starting to seriously drive me crazy. The fact that Ms. Lesa wasn't on the camera footage is really annoying, and I don't know what to think about it. There has to be an explanation, but where do we even start when it comes to finding it?"

"We'll find a way to uncover the truth," I assured her, but I was trying to fight through my own unease as I said it. I wasn't sure about how we were going to figure all of this out, but we were going to have to find a way to find the truth. All of the facts that were just out of reach had to be connected by some common string, and all we had to do was find it. Of course, that was easier said than done, but it wasn't as if we had much of a choice in the matter if we were going to solve the issues of this case. I was desperate to be freed from the detention center, but that wasn't possible until we could find out who the victim and culprit were. 

"The victim being alive somehow connects with the fact that Ms. Lesa wasn't on the camera. The culprit is out there too, but we aren't sure of who he is beyond the white hair and pale skin that we already heard about. Then again, we don't even know for sure if everything that Ms. Lesa has told us has even been honest given the history of her telling the truth," Victoria said. She let out a sigh after she was finished speaking. "There's a lot that we still have to work with."

"And that doesn't even factor in all of the facts that we know about the anonymous tip... Granted, we don't know much, but we still have to keep it in mind. Then there's the fact that Ms. Lesa has been claiming to have amnesia since the case started, and that could easily be relevant too... We'll have to stay on our toes from here no out," Yuri announced. 

Before Deirdre could say anything in response, a familiar bailiff with purple hair let out a cry that it was time for us to enter the courtroom. I showed a nervous smile to my coworkers before glancing over in the direction of the courtroom's entrance. "I guess that it's time for us to go inside," I remarked, realizing belatedly that such a fact was obvious given our instruction from a few moments before. 

"We'll do everything that we can to find the truth behind this case," Yuri assured me, placing one hand on my arm. "I don't know how we're going to do that, but we'll find a way. After all, we've done that in every other case leading up to this point, so we've got a great track record going. Anyways, I'll see you after the case ends!" 

Yuri waved as she led Deirdre and Victoria into the courtroom. I turned to Felicity and Sky as well, and they gave me a thumbs-up and a nervous smile respectively. I returned the gesture, trying my best to hide my anxiety better than Sky had, before making my way in the direction of the courtroom. This case was certainly proving itself to be an interesting one for better or worse. 

I had confidence that they would find a way to unravel the truth behind it all though. Yuri was right in that we hadn't had any issues with finding the truth behind various cases before, and I doubted that we were going to start now. We had solved cases that seemed impossible at a first glance, and we were ready for this. Everything was going to be fine. 

That was what I hoped for, anyways. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School??? Nah
> 
> -Digital


	51. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 11

**November 22**

**Courtroom No. 6**

**10:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

The courtroom, unfortunately, held much the same atmosphere as the defendant lobby before it. I could feel the anxiety hanging in the air like a thick curtain before I even settled down, and all I could do was swallow dryly in response. I could tell that there was something wrong with the prosecution as well, though I didn't need to ask what it was to know my answer. 

It had to be related to the video that was captured by the camera on the side of the nearby apartment building. I simply knew it. Yuri had said that she got the information from Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, and he was undoubtedly aware of it. Even Anton seemed to be stressed, and I prayed that the case ended somewhat well for his sake as well as Lily's safety. I could tell that this wasn't the environment for him given how stressed everyone else was. Chances were that he had asked to help out and used his quiet stubbornness to wind up on the case against the wishes of those around him. 

"Court is back in session for the trial of Lily Shield," Judge Diaphan declared once we were all settled down. "Yesterday, I issued a command for both the defense and prosecution to investigate the case to the best of their abilities to find the truth behind what took place the day of the crime. I trust that you followed through with such?"

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke nodded. "We did... And we found something that you're all going to believe is rather interesting," he said, his words hollow and distant. I winced at his choice of phrasing. He was right in saying as much, but it still bothered me that we were being forced to endure so much in the first place. 

Prosecutor Bloom was the one who chimed in next. "You see, the witness from yesterday, Razi Lesa, told us that she witnessed a man following the victim into the crime scene. She said that the victim was likely attacked behind closed doors and implicated a man with white hair for the crime. However... Further investigation showed us that she couldn't have been in the place that she claimed to have been at the time of the crime," she explained. 

Judge Diaphan's expression slipped into shock, but before she had the chance to ask about what Prosecutor Bloom was talking about, she was cut off by none other than Chief Prosecutor Bespoke. "You see, there's a camera mounted to the side of the apartment building across the street from the agency. That was where we thought the witness was waiting when she saw everything that was mentioned before, but when the footage was revealed, it came to light that she was never in the place that she claimed to have been."

"She lied about where she was at the time of the crime?" Judge Diaphan asked, a frown on her face. When she was met with a nod, she closed her eyes in contemplation. "I see... This is certainly a heavy offense. We need to hear her testimony again at once to ensure that we can find at least something truthful from her words."

"I guess that Ms. Lesa's amnesia isn't going to keep her from being accused of doing something wrong from here on out," Yuri remarked to me. I nodded lightly to say that I agreed. Judge Diaphan's sudden intensity sat strangely with me, but I couldn't blame her in the slightest. She was right in saying that there was something wrong, and I was hoping that we would be able to hear about what it was specifically as soon as possible. Our case was hinging on it. 

"The prosecution calls Razi Lesa to the witness stand," Prosecutor Burke declared. She pointed to the podium in question, her expression and voice both notably pinched. I bit down on my lip, hoping that we wouldn't be met with the full force of her ire at any point during the trial. 

After Ms. Lesa made her way to the stand, she glanced around the area with fear glazing in her eyes. "Um... Is something wrong...?" she asked faintly. I could tell that she was fully aware of what was happening and was simply trying to make it seem like she wasn't suspicious, but that wasn't going to fly with me. I could tell that there was something going on, and it was only a matter of time before she was made fully aware of the fact that we knew what was happening. 

"We've come to understand that you lied to us about what took place during the time of the crime," I explained. "You said that you were in the bushes across the street from the building where the attack took place, but we did some digging and found out that you never appeared on the camera footage that aimed at the back side of the building for security purposes. Would you care to explain such a fact to the court? Why did you not appear on the camera's images?"

Ms. Lesa opened her mouth and shut it a few times before she was interrupted from saying anything further. Prosecutor Burke was the one to cut her off. "We have the camera footage from the time of the crime, and we would like to present it to the court as evidence to be used from here on out," she announced. "There isn't much to see, but it's very clear that the witness was never in the area. She wasn't there at any point of the day, much less the specific time of the crime. That certainly is strange, wouldn't you say?"

"There's one other thing that we want you all to be aware of," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke said next. "We have access to something else important that was uncovered at the scene of the crime. It's the identification card for the victim. It took us some time to get our hands on it, but we now have proof that the victim was the one who was attacked. Eileen Liyle was our suspect, and this proves that she was the one who was left as a victim because of the culprit's actions."

I frowned at his words and watched as he held up an identification card. I looked at it closely, and I found myself comparing it silently to the card that had been found by Mr. Morix at the time of the initial investigation. They looked somewhat similar in size and shape, but that was about all that I could say for things that they had in common. Everything else was as different as could be, and I couldn't help but wonder what the difference could have meant. 

"That was probably found by Mr. Morix during the first investigation," Victoria murmured from beside me. "I can't imagine that it was just uncovered out of the blue after all of the thorough searching that was done in the first day... But if it's the one that was found by Mr. Morix, then why wasn't it revealed until recently?"

"It doesn't look like the one that Mr. Morix found," I told her. "I'm confident of that much. This is a different card, but I don't know why there would have been a need to swap them out in the first place. Something tells me that we're going to figure it out soon enough, but... There's something going on here that we aren't seeing quite yet."

"How did they get their hands on it in the first place when Mr. Morix was the one who uncovered the identification card at the beginning of the investigation?" Yuri questioned. "There we have another thing to figure out. Why don't we just throw it into the same pile as everything else that we have to put up with right now?"

"With the identification card, we can prove that the victim that we thought was attacked is the one who was hurt. Our suspicions have been confirmed," Prosecutor Burke announced. "But that does beg the question... If the witness wasn't in the position where she claimed to have been at the time of the crime, then where was she? How did she come to have such crucial information? Do you want to answer that for us Ms. Lesa? I think that it's rather important that you're honest with us about this."

Ms. Lesa's eyes immediately hardened, and her previous aura of innocence fell away in the blink of an eye. "What are you trying to say?" she asked. Her voice was oddly grounded, even compared to the previous encounters that we had gone through with her. There was something wrong, and it was as clear as could be. I simply wished that I knew how to put the pieces together regarding what was specifically happening. 

"We mean that you're lying about what happened," Prosecutor Burke said with a simple yet harsh shrug. "If you weren't in the shrubbery across the street from the agency, then just where were you? Why weren't you honest about your location from the beginning? We need your answers at once."

All eyes in the courtroom locked squarely on Ms. Lesa, and she let out a small sigh. "Allow me to testify then," she murmured. I could tell that she was still going to try and put up a fight, but I didn't know what was happening behind the scenes. There was a shadow to her eye that I could see but couldn't quite pin down. I simply hoped that the answer would come to me sooner rather than later. 

**~ Witness Testimony ~**

**~ Where I Truly Was ~**

_-"The day of the crime is a blur to me... I don't really know much about what happened."_

_-"I said that I was in the shrubbery because that was where I thought I was. I didn't realize I would be wrong."_

_-"My head hurts just thinking about what happened... All I know is that I hurt my leg somehow. Details are hard to figure out."_

_-"I think that I saw the victim somewhere else... And I'm positive that the man with white hair was with her. Please believe me."_

_-"Regardless of where I was, I know that the victim's identity and the man with white hair are accurate."_

_-"I wish I could tell you where I was... But I'm afraid that I simply don't remember. Forgive me for the inconvenience."_

She didn't even have to finish the testimony for me to know that she was doing nothing but lying to us. It felt as clear as day, and I could see the confusion on the faces of the others in the courtroom as well. The gallery exploded into chatter, likely with onlookers theorizing about what could have actually taken place, but Judge Diaphan beat her gavel against the podium before her with an exhausted roll of her eyes to silence everyone. Nobody wanted to bother her, so they fell silent soon afterwards. 

"The defense would like to cross-examine her testimony at once," I declared, not wanting to wait for other formalities. I already knew what was going on, and I had proof that the witness was lying. Ms. Lesa wasn't doing a great job of hiding what had taken place. 

Her eyes made it perfectly clear that she was fully aware of what had happened. Her gaze remained sharp despite the situation seemingly being rather confusing. Ms. Lesa was looking at me with a strange sense of intensity that I couldn't quite place, but it felt familiar somehow. The space around her eyes went glossy and shimmered unexpectedly. Once again, my frown deepened. 

"Go ahead," Judge Diaphan told me. She seemed just as ready to get this over with, and she nodded in my direction as a secondary cue. I returned the gesture before focusing on the matters at hand. I didn't know what was happening, but I was determined to find out one way or another regardless of how Ms. Lesa felt about it. 

**~ Cross-Examination ~**

**~ Where I Truly Was ~**

_-"The day of the crime is a blur to me... I don't really know much about what happened."_

_-"I said that I was in the shrubbery because that was where I thought I was. I didn't realize I would be wrong."_

_-"My head hurts just thinking about what happened... All I know is that I hurt my leg somehow. Details are hard to figure out."_

_-"I think that I saw the victim somewhere else... And I'm positive that the man with white hair was with her. Please believe me."_

_-"Regardless of where I was, I know that the victim's identity and the man with white hair are accurate."_

_-"I wish I could tell you where I was... But I'm afraid that I simply don't remember. Forgive me for the inconvenience."_

"Objection!" 

"Witness, you claim that you don't remember what happened at the time of the crime, but I know that you're lying without a shadow of a doubt. You know what took place, but you're simply trying to keep it from all of us for some reason or another," I told her confidently. 

Ms. Lesa's eyes went wide with falsified shock. "What are you talking about?" she asked slowly. "I told you that I don't know about what happened. Isn't that enough for you?"

I shook my head. "No... Remember yesterday when we were talking in the area of the bush across the street? You claimed that you were watching the building from that spot, but then you noticed the camera mounted to the side of the building. You immediately grew incredibly nervous and began to dash away when the chance presented itself. You knew that you were lying about what happened. You're aware of what took place at the time of the crime, but you don't want any of us to know," I told her. 

"That's right..." Yuri murmured. "That was how we found out about the camera in the first place. Her nervous reaction made it clear that there was something there, and we were right. She knew that the camera would have been able to prove loud and clear that none of what she claimed happened took place in truth."

"But if you weren't in the bush, then where were you?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke asked. "That's the question of the hour. You must have had a reason for wanting to keep it secret from all of us... But what could that reason be? Why don't you go on and tell us why you lied about such a crucial fact of the case?"

"It's clear that you're involved with this somehow. You wouldn't have said that you knew who the victim was if you were completely unrelated. This isn't a matter of you simply testifying for your own sense of satisfaction. You have a legitimate motive behind this, and if I had to guess, it's that motive that led you to figure out who the culprit was as well. After all, you seem pretty damn confident that the culprit was the man with white hair even now," Prosecutor Burke commented. 

"Please trust me when I say that I know what I'm talking about," Ms. Lesa said, her expression strangely pinched as she eyed the prosecution. "I understand that you have every right to be wary of me after what I did, but you have to realize that I wouldn't want to lie about this. I have no reason to come in here and lie."

"And yet, you still did lie about what happened," Prosecutor Burke pointed out. "Or did you think that we would forget that little detail? Why did you want to hide your true location? The sooner that you answer, the better things will be for everyone involved with this case."

"She must have wanted to hide where she was at the time of the crime for some reason," Victoria murmured. "That's the only reason that I can think of that we're in this situation in the first place... But why would she be so desperate to keep something like this a secret?"

"There must be a reason for it, but I don't understand what it could be. Why not just say where she actually was at the time of the crime?" Yuri asked. "That would make her seem a lot less suspicious. It certainly would have kept us out of a situation like the one that we're seeing right now."

"I think that we're asking the wrong questions here," I told her. "Think about it this way. There has to be a reason that she lied about where she was, and I suspect that it's because she thought it would have been better for her to lie about what happened as opposed to being honest. There was something about her location that would have incriminated her in this case. We need to find out what this could have been... The location was working against her, and we need to figure out why as soon as possible."

"I see what you mean, but what location would have even been incriminating in the first place?" Victoria questioned. "It's not like there were all that many places to hide in the general vicinity of the agency... Everything is far to open for something like that. Where could she have been waiting?"

"There's one place I can think of that would have certainly painted her in a suspicious light, but I don't think that we can really jump to conclusions and say that was where she was quite yet," Yuri commented with a shrug. "The agency itself wouldn't have been a good place for her to hang out, right? I mean, that feels like a given, but..."

"You mean that you think she was inside of the agency at the time of the crime?" Victoria inquired, her eyes going wide. Yuri shrugged again and nodded, but her expression remained knotted with concern. "I don't know what to say about that, honestly... But that would factor in the question once again behind how someone could have gotten their hands on the key needed to get inside. We still don't know what happened with Ms. Liyle, so how can we throw somebody else into that mystery?"

"I didn't think that there was any evidence to back it up. It's the only idea that I have, but what would that even mean for us?" Yuri asked. "I really have no idea. It would mean that we'd have to crack down on turning our attention towards the subject of the keys, and I don't know how we would go about that."

I frowned as I glanced down to the wood in front of me on the desk. There had to be something that pointed to the truth behind why Ms. Lesa was acting in the way that she was. Even if we didn't have any ideas on where to start, the proof most certainly existed. Where could she have been when the crime took place? If she was inside the agency, then how did she get in? Why was she there in the first place?

"There's clearly something that you're hiding from us witness," Judge Diaphan declared. "Where were you at the time of the crime? We don't have the flexibility of moving on without your testimony. Why did you lie to us in the first place about your location?"

"If I may, Your Honor," I cut in, earning the immediate attention of everyone in the courtroom, "I have an idea regarding the reasoning for the witness' peculiar behavior. I think that there is something about the location that she was in at the time of the crime that could possibly implicate her for something unseemly. That's why she tried to hide the truth behind her location."

"What location would have made her seem suspicious?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke questioned. "I somehow doubt that there's any place that she could have actually been that would look worse for her than lying about the truth when we questioned her about it."

"That's the thing... I have an idea, but it would completely change the way that we look at the case from here on out," I said. I watched as Prosecutor Burke's face fell into a frown, and I realized that she had probably figured out what I was going to say. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke followed suit soon afterwards as the revelation hit. 

"Go on and tell the court what you mean then," Judge Diaphan instructed. "Where do you believe the witness was at the time of the crime?"

"I think that she was inside the agency building itself," I replied. "That would have made her look far more suspicious than saying that she was watching from across the street. It would completely change the facts that she would need to testify about as well, so I think it's worth saying that she's been lying about more than just the location from where she saw the crime."

"If she was inside the agency, then that means that she could have been responsible for the attack," Prosecutor Burke announced. "Why else would she lie about what she saw regarding the victim and culprit?"

"I don't think that she's lying about quite as much as we're making it sound," Victoria remarked. "If she was the culprit, then why tell us about who the victim was? That wouldn't do anything to further her own goals. In fact, it would only leave her in more trouble than before. It would have been for the best if the victim's identity was left unknown, but she brought it up anyways. Then there's the matter of the man with white hair. Why bring up someone who isn't related to the case at all in a lie? It would have been found out sooner or later, and she would have suffered the resulting consequences."

"So, if she didn't have a reason to lie about who the victim or culprit was, then why did she hide everything else involved with the case? Changing her location from across the street to inside the agency completely shifts how we've been looking at this attack up to this point," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke murmured under his breath. "If she was inside the agency, then she could have witnessed the attack. You know, if she was hiding behind something, it wouldn't have been too difficult to mask the fact that she was there and keep her presence secret from the culprit."

That was one question that I didn't have an answer to. I didn't think that she could have been at the scene of the crime. If she had witnessed what took place, then she would have told us already who the culprit was. She would have had access to details regarding something like that. Instead, all we got were vague descriptions of the person who she thought the culprit was. 

"She said that she had amnesia... I'm starting to doubt that something like that could be true because of her sudden shifts in behavior, but let's assume for a moment that she was hit on the head and lost her memory. Something like that would probably draw blood, right?" Yuri questioned. "Regarding the blood at the scene of the crime... Did it all belong to one person, or were there multiple sources?"

"I see what you mean to say... If there were multiple sources of blood, then that could mean that there were two victims and we just didn't realize," Victoria concluded with a small nod. Her gaze shifted to the prosecution across the courtroom. 

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke shook his head. "No... There was only one person who was attacked. All of the blood came from a single source. I found that out from the forensics testers on the first day of the investigation. There couldn't have been two victims," he said. I had to admit that I was suspecting him to say something like that, but it didn't make it any less disappointing. 

"You said that you lost your memory around the time that the crime took place, didn't you?" I questioned, turning my attention up to Ms. Lesa once again. I felt like we were on the verge of a huge discovery, and all we had to do was find the final piece and slip it into place. Of course, I didn't have the slightest clue about what it could have been, but it was still a start as far as I was concerned. 

Ms. Lesa nodded. "I don't remember anything from before the day of the attack. I simply have a leg injury from before I lost my memory. I don't know how it got there, what my real name is, or who I actually am... Or, rather, who I was," she explained. Her expression was still incredibly stoic, and I frowned to myself. Her phrasing struck me as odd, but I couldn't quite say why that was. 

"Ms. Lesa lied about her location, and we think that it's because she was in the agency at the time," I murmured. "She couldn't have been attacked by the culprit because there was only blood from one source at the scene of the crime. She couldn't have hidden and seen the crime because then she would have had more details about the culprit. Plus, she could have very easily been discovered if she was simply hiding at the scene... What exactly am I missing here?"

I closed my eyes as I began to drown in my thoughts regarding all of this. I didn't know what I could have been missing out on, but it was clear that there was something that I wasn't seeing. Ms. Lesa was inside of the agency, but how could she have gotten in without a key? Why didn't she fall victim to what took place? If she was the culprit, she wouldn't have wanted to tell us everything about the victim. If she was a witness, then she would have been able to tell us more about the culprit. That only left one potential position for her, but... 

Wait. 

As soon as it hit me, I felt as if all of the air had been forced from my lungs, and my jaw dropped in surprise. I didn't want to believe that this could have been the case, but it wasn't as if I had much of a choice in the matter. The universe had already decided on what the fate of this case was meant to be, and all I could do was go along with it and uncover the truth. If my suspicions were to be believed, then that meant that this was what had taken place at the time of the attack. 

"What if the witness wasn't actually a witness at all?" I questioned slowly once I had gotten the attention of the other people in the courtroom. I earned quizzical looks in response, so I decided to explain. "I'm saying that there's one other potential position that the witness could have filled. As of now, we have three people who were involved with the crime before others such as the defendant enter the picture."

"There's the culprit, the victim, and the witness... But the witness was lying about her location, and we don't know where she could have been at the time. What are you trying to say?" Prosecutor Burke questioned. 

"The witness herself is a contradiction as soon as you start to look at the case critically. It wouldn't make sense if she was the culprit, but there is one other position that we have yet to figure out regarding the case," I continued. Yuri and Victoria's expressions changed into shock as they realized what I was getting at. 

"You can't possibly be serious," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke remarked, his eyes narrowing. I could tell that he had already come to the same conclusion that I had, and he knew that there was no way to escape this. The truth was out in the open, and nothing was going to change it. 

I nodded. "No corpse was found at the scene of the crime. That left us to wonder if the victim was perhaps alive after being attacked. It wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility. We already went over why such a conclusion was reached yesterday, so I'll spare you all the details for the time being. All that you need to know is the fact that the victim survived the attack, and we have our way to uncover the truth behind this case," I announced. 

The gallery above immediately burst into chatter, and when Judge Diaphan reached for her gavel, there was an unspoken ferocity to her actions. She wasn't happy about this in the slightest, not that I could blame her. "Order in the court!" she roared. As soon as the onlookers had quieted down, she turned her attention back to me. Her gaze was incredibly sharp even behind her mask. "Please explain at once what you are trying to imply, defense."

"Of course," I responded. "The victim could have survived the attack, and we explained during the previous trial session why this was possible. No body was left behind, and the culprit didn't clean up the scene of the crime, implying that they didn't take the corpse with them to hide elsewhere after the fact. That made it clear that the victim likely survived what happened... And I believe that we've found her."

I pointed to Ms. Lesa, watching as her gaze shifted in my direction once again. There was a glare manifesting in her eyes, and I could tell that there were far more secrets to her than she was willing to admit. Suddenly, everything felt like it made sense. This was how we were going to find the truth behind this case, and the one calling herself "Ms. Lesa" couldn't run from her lies anymore. 

"How do you respond, Ms. Razi Lesa? Or should I say... Ms. Eileen Liyle?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist!
> 
> -Digital


	52. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 12

**November 22**

**Courtroom No. 6**

**11:00 AM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

As soon as I made the accusation, everything about Ms. Lesa's demeanor changed. Her posture straightened out, and she began to carry herself with a completely different aura. I frowned in her direction and waited for her to be ready to speak once again. 

When she finally did talk, she shook her head. "You sure do seem confident in your deductions," Ms. Lesa remarked simply. I waited for a moment, expecting her to say something more, but she was completely silent. 

"I suppose I am," I told her with a light shrug. "I know that there's something going on here, and I intend to get to the truth of the matter no matter what happens. I hope that you understand my intentions as well as I do."

Ms. Lesa hummed to herself. "I suppose I do," she repeated. "If you really think that I'm involved with something like that, then prove it. You say that I wasn't in the area of the bush across from the street, but you have to be able to back that up, you know. You can't simply say something of that nature without providing any evidence to prove that I did so much to hide my identity."

"Allow me to go over my explanation of what I believe happened at the time of the crime," I began, and the entire gallery of the courtroom looked to me in curiosity. They hadn't broken into confused chatter at my accusation towards Ms. Lesa, so I could tell that their attention was too centered on what I was trying to accomplish. I decided to take that as an advantage and use it to push my progress forward once again. If they were going to pay attention, I was going to give them something to focus on. 

"Go ahead," Judge Diaphan said. Her expression was unreadable, but I could see a bit of hidden tension despite her silence after the two simple words. She wasn't sure about how to feel about all of this in the slightest, and I couldn't exactly blame her for that. 

I glanced across the courtroom after I was done watching her, and I noticed that there was some new anger beneath the surface of Prosecutor Burke's expression. There was something wrong, but I didn't know quite what it could have been. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke looked to be just as upset, but he seemed more concerned than outwardly angry. Anton, on the other hand, was just confused about everything that was happening. He looked back and forth between the two in confusion and panic, clearly trying to put the pieces together but lacking a critical part of the puzzle. 

"The witness here claimed that she was across the street at the time of the crime. She declared rather confidently that she witnessed the crime from near the bushes that were across the road from the building where the attack took place, but this could not have been true. She didn't show up on the security footage for the nearby apartment building, and she also didn't have any signs of having been in the bushes at all. The bush was spotless, clearly not having been tampered with at all. This doesn't fit in with her claims of an injured ankle, and she likely received such an injury while she was there... At the very least, that was what she led us to believe, but if you ask me, it was a cover story for something that she couldn't tell us about related to the crime," I began to explain. 

"If she didn't hurt her ankle there, then... It would make sense if she hurt it elsewhere, and I'm starting to think that I figured out what you're trying to say," Victoria murmured. She still seemed to be reeling from the revelation of the witness being involved with the crime far more than we expected, and I admittedly felt bad for freaking her out to such a degree. 

I nodded. "She hid what happened to her ankle as a way of keeping us from asking questions. If you want my opinion, we know where the blood came from at the crime scene now. She was attacked there because Ms. Lesa is, in all honesty, Eileen Liyle, the victim of this case. She knew about the woman with red hair because that's who she is. She knew about the man with white hair because that's who attacked her, but she doesn't know specifically who that could have been," I went on. 

"Her ankle was probably cut by something at the scene of the crime... We proposed the possibility of a small knife being used to commit the crime. She was probably honest in saying that the culprit wanted to hide it," Yuri told me. "That would make sense. I think that she wants us to figure out what happened with the culprit cornering her. She simply didn't want us to put the pieces together that she was the one who was attacked in the first place..."

"All of this is operating off hypotheticals," Ms. Lesa commented with a loose shrug. Her eyes were as hard as shards of glass, and she was glaring at me with a detached intensity that I have to admit rather bothered me. "You haven't actually proposed a single piece of evidence since this conversation first began, and that's something that you must do in order to claim that I set up such a ruse. Why would I do this in the first place? If I knew who I was, why would I lie about it?"

"You didn't want us asking questions," I said simply. "If you said that you had amnesia, then we wouldn't be able to ask questions about what happened to you in the past. That wouldn't be something we would think to explore, so we'd leave it alone until you stepped back and decided that you had managed to get what you wanted. You couldn't say that you were Eileen Liyle without placing yourself in danger. That's why you did all of this... You didn't know who the culprit was, so you tried to get us all to find out who was responsible."

"If the victim was sent to a hospital or something similar, then there would have been the possibility that somebody would sneak in through the cracks to finish the job. It would be a headline, advertising the fact that she managed to survive. It would be asking for the culprit to come and find her to finish what they started..." Yuri realized. "She didn't want to draw attention to herself, so she hid under a false name and pretended to have amnesia while the case's investigation unfolded around her. She could feed us hints under the guise of a witness, and we would get closer to figuring out who was responsible so that they could be arrested."

"This was all an elaborate ruse to keep yourself from falling to danger because of the culprit tracking down," I announced. "That was why you planned all of this. You know exactly who you are, and you know where your injuries came from as well. Come to think of it, you haven't shown us the wound on your leg at all yet. If you simply displayed the marking, we would be able to see if it fits in with my hypothesis of a cut being opened on your leg that hinders your maneuverability. That would have applied to the victim, and I believe that it applies to you as well."

"Once again, you're only speaking in hypotheticals. Where's your evidence that I had the ability to get into the agency in the first place? You've been operating completely off assumptions up to this point, and that's not going to win you this case. If you can't find the truth behind what happened with hard proof of it, then you won't be able to draw honesty out of me," Ms. Lesa said. She shrugged and shook her head, and the glassy surface near her eyes began to glimmer with a sadistic shine. "Besides, wouldn't this just be going against the plan that I supposedly concocted? If you say that I was trying to escape the culprit, then why are you doing all of this? There are reporters in the gallery who could make this go public and end everything according to your current theory."

I frowned at her words. I knew exactly what she was trying to do with this. Ms. Lesa was trying to get us to pull away from the subject, and it was likely because my assumption had hit a bit too close to home. Why else would she suddenly begin behaving in this way? Her demeanor had shifted so completely in a matter of just a few seconds, and she wasn't even bothering to keep up the mask anymore. There was something going on here, and I was positive that I had struck gold with my idea that she was trying to hide her identity as the victim of this case. 

"She would have needed a key in order to get into the agency," Yuri remarked. "We knew that, and it was one of the things that we were most caught up on until we spoke with Mr. Morix yesterday. He said that the victim did, as a matter of fact, have a key to the building. If she's the victim, then that means that she had a key. He told us as much, but... His wording from that whole conversation was so weird. He said that she had a key of her own, but the way that he phrased it just didn't seem to make sense, almost like he was trying to tell us something."

"Prosecutor Burke and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke have gotten weirdly quiet since the truth came out too," Victoria commented from my other side. "I wonder what's going on in their heads. As far as I can tell, it isn't anything good. What could make them so nervous? I don't like it..."

"Plus, if you think about it, Ms. Liyle doesn't look anything like Ms. Lesa," Yuri said. "I mean, look at the identification card. It took so long for the truth about the ID to come around, but... It seems to me like the red hair of the victim is pretty different from the hair color that Ms. Lesa has. Ms. Lesa's hair is light brown and pretty long... It doesn't seem realistic in the slightest that something like that could happen so suddenly."

"I bet that she's wearing a wig now to keep us from noticing the similarities in their appearances," Victoria pointed out. "That would make sense, right? If she was trying to keep this fact under wraps as much as possible, then she would probably be pretty damn desperate to ensure that we didn't notice things like hair color or style. After all, red hair is pretty distinctive."

My eyes slipped shut, and I found myself lost in my own thoughts. I felt as if all of this had to point to one specific fact. The identification card certainly had taken a long time to come to light even though Mr. Morix had been in possession of it all along. In fact, why had he kept it hidden for as long as he did? It didn't seem to make any sense to me at all. What was going on there? Why was he acting so strangely on the matter of the key as well? 

The way that he had talked about it made it seem like he was trying to give us a hint that would nudge us in the right direction to figuring out the truth behind who the victim truly was. That would mean that he had to be aware of this, but how would he know something like that based only on an identification card? Could it have had anything to do with the uncomfortable behavior that we had seen from both Prosecutor Burke and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke throughout this case?

Wait a minute. Light brown hair? 

I glanced over to Ms. Lesa, and I noticed that, sure enough, her hair was a light brown color and flowed in gentle waves down to her hips. Her eyes were hidden behind a glistening surface that, upon closer examination, looked a lot like glasses. My eyes narrowed, and I tried to think about what this could possibly mean. 

_You have got to be kidding me._

As soon as the idea came to me, all I could do was cringe to myself. There was one person in the agency who hadn't been seen throughout this case, and Mr. Morix had been behaving so strangely that it hardly felt like he was the one going about his business behind the scene. Mr. Morix had been the one to hold onto the identification card, and if I had to guess, I would have said that he was the one who sent in the anonymous tip behind the victim's identity. That would have made quite a bit of sense, because as far as I could tell, he was covering for somebody who just so happened to fit the same description as Ms. Lesa. 

After all, what else was the perfect job for the right hand of the Oracle? 

"Deirdre?" Yuri questioned from her place beside me. She nudged at me carefully to pull me out of my trance, and I could hear the concern in her voice before I even glanced over in her direction. I already knew that she was wondering about what had happened to me, but I couldn't tell her. There were too many people watching us, and I had just managed to figure out the dark secret behind this case. 

'Eileen Liyle' had never been a new lawyer who was just breaking into the business, and there was a reason that we had never seen her at the agency despite her apparently being present quite a bit. She hadn't been showing herself specifically as Eileen at all, and that was part of the grand show of this case. She had a key to the agency because she worked there, and she used it to enter the building the day of the crime before she was attacked and left for dead. Prosecutor Burke and Chief Prosecutor Bespoke were aware of who she truly was, and that was why their behavior had been so peculiar throughout this case. Prosecutor Lin had changed so much since hearing the victim's name, and it was because she was also aware that we were all being played for fools by the illusion of Eileen Liyle. 

Because 'Eileen Liyle' never truly existed. In truth, she was merely another mask that the Oracle of the Law donned when she was attempting to rally for change through molded faces and altered words. Mr. Morix was aiding Chrysalis to cover for the hole that had appeared because of the culprit because they were the true masterminds of every issue that had risen in this case thus far. 

Ms. Lesa seemed to notice that I had caught onto the truth, and her gaze kept me pinned squarely in place. I couldn't reveal the fact that she was Oracle. That was only going to cause issues later down the line, so I was going to have to do this without exposing such a fact. The names of Eileen Liyle and Razi Lesa, falsified as they were, would have to suffice as a powerful enough facade to keep anyone from breaking through to find the truth. 

"I'm confident that the witness is the victim," I declared at long last. I could tell that Yuri was still watching me in confusion and concern, but I chose not to acknowledge it openly. "The witness has a key to the building where the crime took place. We heard as much from the agency's owner yesterday, and I'm sure that anyone who speaks with him will be able confirm such a fact. She has a key, and she used that to get into the building. From there, she was unfortunately attacked by the culprit who snuck up on her and decided to use the confusion of the moment to his advantage. He attacked her, including a cut on her leg that caused her to lose a full range of motion temporarily due to the pain. That caused the blood splatter at the scene of the crime as well."

"Do you believe that she was the one who submitted the tip anonymously that the victim was Eileen Liyle?" Judge Diaphan asked. I couldn't help but frown at her words, knowing that this wasn't bound to work out well in my favor. After all, I had stated earlier in the case that I didn't think the witness was the one behind it. I hadn't realized that such a thing would work against me down the line, but I was going to have to cover for it without exposing that she had an assistance in falsifying her own death and subsequent disappearance. 

I shook my head. "I don't think so... At the very least, she didn't do it completely on her own. If I had to wager a guess, I would say that she had someone else call the tip in for her. I doubt that the other person was fully aware of who she was or what she was doing, so she used the confusion to her advantage. I understand that this is a somewhat flaky explanation, but I'm confident that she had someone else do it as a way of covering her own tracks and keeping us from figuring out that she was involved with the case so heavily."

"It all makes sense," Victoria murmured after a moment of thought. "All of this makes sense, I mean. The fact that the witness is actually the victim... We've been saying throughout this entire case that all we would need to crack the truth of this case is to hear from the victim and make sure that we're on the right track, and now, we're getting the chance to talk to her. She hasn't confessed her identity yet, but I don't think that there are any doubts on it at the moment. Everyone seems to agree that there's something going on with the witness, after all."

"I believe firmly that the witness pretended to be someone else as a way of coaxing us in the right direction to find the culprit while keeping us from realizing who she was. The plan was likely to disappear and wait until after the culprit had been apprehended, and after that was resolved, she could resurface once again as Eileen Liyle without any fear of being attacked or otherwise tracked down," I realized. "I think that she's been trying all along to try and get us to figure out who the culprit is. We didn't notice it at first since she had to hide her identity, but she covered for a lack of witnesses by making sure that we all understood that there was something else going on."

"Ms. Lesa was the only witness who we heard about from the crime," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke murmured with a frown on his face. "We never spoke to anybody else since no other witnesses came forward with testimony. I think that she knew that better than anyone, and she decided to cover for the lack of witness testimony by saying what happened from an outsider's perspective."

"She would know better than anyone else what happened when the victim was attacked, after all," Prosecutor Burke said with a shake of her head. Her gaze shifted up to Ms. Lesa a moment later, and I found myself swallowing nervously. I already had a bad feeling about this, as much as I hated to admit it. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Burke were both incredibly familiar with matters involving Oracle since they had been involved with the project since the very beginning, but it still bothered me to think about. I doubted they would slip up, but the paranoia remained heavy and frustrating in the back of my mind.

"Why don't you go on and tell the truth for us, witness?" Judge Diaphan questioned. "We all believe at this point that you're involved with something greater than what you've led us to think. All the evidence that we need can be found on your leg as far as I'm concerned."

"You told us yourself that the culprit used a small knife. That was your theory, or that was how you stated it, but I believe that you were actually trying to push us into believing it because of how honest it is. The knife was likely used to cut your leg during the scuffle of the crime, and I believe that he tried to strangle you from there, hence how we got to an issue like this," I continued. "If you had been hurt from anything else, I doubt you would have been able to wander around and try to act normal. We haven't seen anything aside from your face since this case has begun, so that seems like another point that we're going in the right direction to assume that something is going on here."

"I don't think that you should be so confident about this," Ms. Lesa told us slowly and deliberately. "The culprit... You still need to find them. You need to figure out who that is above all else. You can worry about me a bit later, wouldn't you say?"

I could tell that was her way of both changing the subject and trying to push us to figure out who the one who attacked her was. In hindsight, the decision to try and push us towards the truth in other ways made much more sense. The culprit was still a mystery to us all, and it appeared as if the pale man with white hair hadn't resurfaced since he first tried to attack Ms. Lesa the day of the assault. Chrysalis was the only person I knew who fit the description of Ms. Lesa physically who had so little faith in the legal system that she would have done something like this. Most others would have gone out of their way to tell those who would have been able to help, but Chrysalis was unfortunately more than familiar with the dark side of the legal system, and it was probably pushing her the wrong way in this situation as well. I couldn't blame her for being so concerned about it, but I did find myself frowning at the idea that not even the victim, the one we had been trying to find all this time, was going to be able to help us to uncover the culprit's true name and face. After all, she didn't know either. 

"The culprit didn't return to the scene of their crime. I believe that's why this is happening in the first place. You had a feeling that the man with white hair wasn't going to be coming back, and since there were no other witnesses for you to fall back on, you had to take matters into your own hands. That was what led us to this situation, and it's pushed you towards something rather unfortunate since you thought that you didn't have any other choice," I told her. 

"If you ask me, I think that we need to make it our priority to try and find out who fits the description of the culprit. If not even the victim knows about who the culprit was, then that means that we have quite a bit of reasoning to take care of from here on out," Judge Diaphan concluded. "Witness, please state so at this time... Are you really the victim? Remember what happens when people lie in courts of law. You wouldn't want to cross any lines more than you already have."

For a long time, Ms. Lesa was perfectly silent, and when she did answer, she simply shook her head. "You are correct in your assumptions," she told us slowly. "I am the victim of this case. Eileen Liyle is the name that you all know me by. After the crime took place, I left behind a clue about my identity, and that was how my true name was uncovered."

"Mr. Morix," Yuri realized. "The identification card that was found at the scene of the crime told him who the victim was, so he definitely was the one to call in as soon as he figured it out... But why would he...?" She fell silent soon afterwards, and I saw her cringe as soon as the realization hit her. I made a mental note to talk with her about it as soon as we were out of the courtroom. I wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of as safely as possible. I was going to have to discuss this with Victoria as well, but for the time being, the events taking place in the courtroom had to be my number one priority. 

Ms. Lesa tossed her hair over her shoulder, and I saw the glimmer of glasses shine over her eyes once again. Everything made so much damn sense when I looked at it this way, and it was almost painful to me that I hadn't looked through this lens sooner. Chrysalis hadn't been seen since before the case started, and the reasoning for that was blatantly obvious all of a sudden. 

"Do you know anything about the culprit beyond the fact that he has white hair and pale skin?" came the voice of Prosecutor Burke next. Her words were stilted and forced, and I bit down on my lip nervously. 

"I'm afraid not," Ms. Lesa answered with a shake of her head. "If I knew anything like a name, I would have mentioned this before. I don't know who the man was. We crossed paths for the first time that day in the agency. I was going in early to pick something up before going about my daily routine, and he ambushed me along the way. I don't know who he was or what he could have had against me. Everything about him is a mystery, but... If the chance came, I believe that I would have been able to identify his face in a crowd. If you showed me a lineup, I would be able to figure out who he was."

"I see," Judge Diaphan murmured. She picked up her gavel and hit it down to get rid of the chattering in the gallery before it could properly sink in. "Defense, prosecution, I'm calling for the end of the day's courtroom session. Both sides need to investigate what is happening with the culprit and come in tomorrow so that we can discuss the matter. If a list of suspects can be compiled based on physical appearance, that would be even better. We have to identify the culprit as soon as possible."

"Understood," I told her. Admittedly, I was beyond relieved to hear that the trial was finally about to end. Everything had felt so much longer since I came to the conclusion that Ms. Lesa and Ms. Liyle were something far more than people realized. It felt as if every second lasted a century as I counted down the minutes to the time when I would be able to discuss the matter freely with the people who understood the gravity of the unfortunate situation at hand. 

Judge Diaphan's gaze shifted down to Ms. Lesa next, and the two locked eyes in an intense moment that made me frown heavily. "You are to be placed under protection from the culprit in case anything happens. I'll make sure of that much. While you're at it, go and have that cut on your leg examined by a professional. You're only going to cause yourself further grief if you walk around for any longer without having it checked out," she said sternly. 

Not even Ms. Lesa was able to fight back against her, and she nodded simply. "Of course," Ms. Lesa answered. I could see so many similarities to Ms. Lesa and Chrysalis when I was looking closely, and I frowned to myself all over again when I remembered how much I had missed out on simply because I wasn't looking at the details closely enough. I had been so sure that Chrysalis was simply working with Mr. Morix on something else relating to the case. I just didn't expect that she would be so close without any of us ever picking up on it. Then again, that was the point, and it was part of Chrysalis' special skillset on top of that. 

"When court next convenes, we will put our full attention to finding the truth behind the culprit and everything that he did the day of the crime. Without further ado, court is adjourned," Judge Diaphan announced, her tone slightly clipped due a quiet sense of irritation that was becoming impossible to hide. I could barely blame her, I had to say. This was all moving so quickly, and everything had changed for this case in the blink of an eye. 

For the time being, I looked over to Yuri and Victoria. We were going to have quite a bit of work ahead of us, or in all honesty, a lot of talking. Mr. Morix couldn't keep the secret from us any longer after everything that we had already uncovered, and he was bound to be aware of such a truth. All it was going to take was one more day, and then the truth would be dragged to light. So much had happened, but we weren't going to give up yet. 

For the sake of both Lily, Chrysalis, and everyone else involved with this case, we were going to who the culprit was no matter what it took. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist!
> 
> -Digital


	53. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 13

**November 22**

**Defendant Lobby No. 6**

**12:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

The trip out to the defendant lobby felt agonizing, and when I sat down on the couch, I barely remembered how to speak. The world felt like it was crumbling around me, and that was the nice way of putting it. I waited for Deirdre, Yuri, and Lily to join me, and from there, we spent a few moments in silence before Felicity and Sky appeared. I knew that we weren't going to be able to discuss this in detail as long as the two of them were around. It was nothing against Felicity or Sky; they simply hadn't been let in on the agency's secrets, and that was probably for the best. This wasn't exactly the perfect moment to reveal such information, so none of us commented on it regardless of how concerned we were with the concept. 

"So... The victim and the witness are the same person," Felicity commented with a nervous laugh as she scratched at the back of her neck. "I don't know how you managed to pin that down. The idea that Mr. Morix knew about it and sent in an anonymous tip about who the victim is... I don't like that. I guess that the idea about the victim being alive and simply gambling about how to get the culprit out of hiding wound up being correct at the very least. I don't think that's something to really be proud of right now, but... It's true."

"I didn't think that the truth would wind up being something like that," Sky murmured. "I was confident that there was something else going on behind the scenes given what we already heard about this case, but I don't think that any of us could have possibly seen that coming. The victim and the witness are one and the same... I don't understand."

"I mean, it's pretty easy to understand why she did all of that, but there's a lot about this case that we don't know," Yuri pointed out. "The culprit's identity is still unknown. All this time, we were staking the victim being able to identify the culprit at a first glance, and that would have made everything much easier for us. Instead, we don't know where to go from here. Even if she can identify the culprit from a lineup, I don't know if that's going to be able to truly save us."

"There has to be something that we aren't seeing behind this case. We've figured out why Mr. Morix was so anxious, and that's a good thing. He knew about the victim, and that was why he decided to spend so much of his time working alone. There are other facts that we don't yet understand... Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, Prosecutor Burke, and Prosecutor Lin's anxiety has been defined as well, I believe. We know now that they were probably anxious as a result of Mr. Morix's behavior," Deirdre explained. She was doing her best to say as much as possible without letting in the Amaya twins on the truth that she knew something more. 

"I still don't get why Detective Umber's been acting so weird," Felicity remarked with a shrug. "I mean, you did mention that she's been behaving strangely, right? I don't know if she has anything to do with the case, but she did show up at the scene of the crime despite not being directly related with the attack. If you ask me, that's something that you should probably investigate when you get the chance."

"How would we even get her to open up about something like that?" I murmured with a shake of my head. "I don't know where to even start, if I'm being honest. I agree that this is probably the best place for us to start when it comes to things of this nature, but it's still strange to think about... If Detective Umber really is involved with this mess, then how could she tie in with it all?"

"I wish I had an answer for you on that," Lily said, sighing as she gazed down to the floor. "I don't know what to do. All of this is just happening so fast... It's not something that I expected at all. It feels like this case is just one punch to the stomach after another. Ms. Lesa is going to be under protection from here on out to make sure that she doesn't find herself in any significant trouble, but that's exactly what she was trying to prevent..."

I could tell based on her sudden distant behavior that she was fully aware of the truth behind Ms. Lesa and Ms. Liyle. No wonder she was so freaked out. All of this was happening quickly, I had to agree, but it was undoubtedly worse for her given that she was the defendant of this case. How could she cope with all of this when this had been thrown at her so suddenly? She was right when she said that the trial was one punch after another; we hadn't been given a way to prepare. The revelation of who Ms. Lesa really was simply dawned on us out of the blue, and it refused to allow us even a moment of peace no matter what we tried to do to fight back. 

"I'm sure that she'll be fine. The detectives on this case are probably going to look after her to make sure that nobody hurts her," Felicity pointed out. "I mean, they're the ones who are most heavily involved with this case, and they would be able to protect her... I hope that she can trust them even if she fears that the rest of the world is going to try and get her."

"The culprit was after her even though the two of them had never met. That's enough of a reason for her to be suspicious of most people if you ask me," Yuri said. "I'm not sure about what can even be said at this point. We have to find the truth behind this case, I suppose. There's nothing more that we can do at this point. All we can do is wait for the next session of the trial and see what happens then... Maybe the prosecution will have a few ideas about what would help most in the next step of our investigation."

"The judge did say that it would be for the best if they decided to gather a list of pictures of people who would fit the physical description of the culprit. That's a nice first step to take, and we can see where everything goes from there when the time comes," Sky suggested. "For now, I think that it would be best to find a way to talk to both Mr. Morix and Ms. Lesa outside of the courtroom environment. It's not like Mr. Morix has a reason to avoid you at this point. We've figured out how he's tied in with this case, and that should make it easier for you to pin him down and get him to talk about what's been happening."

"I still think it's weird to imagine that he was so involved with this case despite not seeming that way on the surface... I mean, we always had an inkling that there was something there, but it's still intriguing, I guess," Lily commented. "Everything about this case just feels strange. I wonder how this could possibly all come together. There has to be a reason behind it, you know?"

"Detective Umber is another person that we need to talk to... I don't know if we'll have the chance to today given that we don't really have a way of knowing for sure where she's going to be, but... I'm sure that she's going to crack soon and tell us about everything that's been happening," I said. "That's what I'm hoping for, at the very least. As far as I can tell, she's been under a lot of pressure between this case and the previous one that we were involved with."

"I agree," Deirdre nodded. "The strain of keeping some massive secret must be getting to her now, and I believe that whatever it is that's weighing on her will come out soon enough. I can't say for sure if it's involved with this case or not, but given that she came to the scene of the crime despite her lack of direct connection... I have to wonder if something is going on there."

"I'm positive that there is," Yuri declared confidently. "If you ask me, she seemed almost guilty about something whenever she went to the scene of the crime. I mean, that's a weird way to say it, and I don't know what she could have possibly felt so bad about, but... I feel like there was something that she regretted despite the fact that she didn't say it out in the open. Maybe I'm just reading it the wrong way, but... Did you guys get the same sort of vibe from her too?"

I frowned to myself at her words and tried to remember back to the conversations that we had shared with Detective Umber between the current case and the previous one. When I thought about it in detail, I had to confess that Yuri had a point. It wasn't something that I could easily describe. In all honesty, it was probably something to do with the nervous sheen of her eyes and how hesitant she was to make eye contact with anyone. Still, it certainly made her seem as if she felt guilty about something, but the fact remained that I didn't have the slightest clue as to what that thing could have been. It wasn't as if she had offered us any hints to base our suspicions off in the past, so we couldn't dig any deeper than we already had, at least not quite yet. 

"If you ask me, I think that we should go on and get ready for our next duty," Sky suggested. "Maybe you three could go and make sure that you can talk with Mr. Morix about what you've figured out thanks to the trial. Felicity and I will go back to the detention center with Lily. If we happen to receive any visitors, we'll be sure to tell you about it as soon as possible. Maybe Detective Umber will drop by if she's really as tied in with this case as she seems to be."

"We'll be counting on you two to make sure that everything is alright," I told them. Felicity shot me a grin and a thumbs-up, and both she and Sky rose to their feet. Lily did the same, and I watched as they disappeared into the crowd. I had to confess that I hadn't realized how full the room had become until that moment. There were so many more people than I expected, though I supposed that came with the territory of what had taken place during the trial. There had been quite a few people in the gallery, and I imagined that there would only be more during the next session of court. I was sure that the case of the victim who pretended to be a witness was going to earn quite a bit of attention, and those who were curious were bound to wander into the courtroom to see what they could find. The idea didn't exactly sit well with me, but I didn't have a way of influencing it, so I bit my tongue and chose to ignore it to the best of my ability. 

As soon as Felicity, Sky, and Lily were out of our line of sight, Deirdre, Yuri, and I all turned to each other and watched one another cautiously. A lot had happened all at once, and the next step of the case was bound to be something difficult for all of us. Talking to Mr. Morix was going to reveal the other details behind the case that couldn't be discussed in the courtroom. From there, our objective would be to see what information we could get out of Ms. Lesa herself, though that was undoubtedly going to be easier said than done. I somehow doubted that she was going to be open about what had taken place regardless of how hard we tried to push her. The added fact of many people being around her was only going to make it harder to talk to her. 

"We need to talk."

Speaking of the man himself, Mr. Morix approached us slowly. His expression was pinched, and he refused to meet any of our gazes. I couldn't tell if it was because he was ashamed or concerned about what we were going to think, but in the end, I decided that it was probably a blend of both. Everything about him was unreadable, but his shoulders were unmistakably tense. If that wasn't a sign that he was worried, then I didn't know what was. 

"Where are we going?" Yuri asked as she looked up at him. "It's not as if we can go to the agency. There are going to be all sorts of people there, and that's not going to make it easy for us to discuss what's been happening. We don't want anybody listening in on our conversations, and that's a possibility if we go back o the agency because it's the scene of the crime."

"I have something else in mind," Mr. Morix told her with a loose yet heavy shrug. "I think that you'll recognize the destination when we get to it. Meet me at the front of the prison in half an hour. From there, I'll take us to the location of our upcoming conversation."

After saying that, Mr. Morix turned on his heel and walked away, and I watched his figure until I couldn't see his outline anymore. With that said and done, I turned to Deirdre and Yuri. Both of them seemed to be just as confused as I was, and I believed that we had all come to the same conclusion. We were going to listen to his directions and simply trust that he knew what he was doing when he said that we had to go to the prison. Whatever he was thinking, he was confident that it was going to work. If he had chosen this location, then we had to trust that it was for the best. 

We didn't say anything to each other as we walked out of the lobby. In my eyes, we were all too wrapped up in our own thoughts to put any specific attention to speaking. The case had changed so rapidly, and I didn't know what I was even meant to say. This was all a mess, but if all went well, we would be able to figure it out soon. That was what I was hoping for above all else. 

**November 22**

**Blackgate Prison**

**1:15 PM**

**Deirdre Brigit**

Mr. Morix was already waiting for us outside the prison by the time that we arrived, and I could see him standing in the shadow of a building with a somber expression. As soon as he noticed that we were present, Mr. Morix started to walk towards the door. The silent expectation was that we were meant to follow, so I did just that. Yuri and Victoria followed my lead as well, and the four of us began to make our way through the prison. 

I could tell that this was a familiar path, and my mind was cast back to the murder at the prison from the year prior. I could remember looking around the prison as a whole after the murder of Alphonse Clarence, and one of the notable locations back then had been found at the heart of the prison. It was an isolated space that very few people were aware of, and I supposed that it was why Mr. Morix had chosen this spot in particular. I hadn't been sure of why he wanted to come here at first, but it was starting to become increasingly clear. 

Sure enough, we found our way to the evidence room, and Mr. Morix glanced over at Yuri. She walked closer when she realized what he was trying to say, and she leaned towards a particular spot of the wall after pulling her hair away from her eye when he gestured for her to do so. I watched the area with a frown, and the door slid into view. Mr. Morix walked inside, and the rest of us trailed in after him. The door shut behind us, and Mr. Morix's fingers closed around a string connected to a single light switch at the center of the room. 

"The evidence room..." Yuri whispered with her eyes wide as could be. "That's right. We heard from a certain somebody a year ago that you need a scar about the same size and shape as hers in order to get in. 'Ms. Anderson had it on her hand', and I have a similar one on my eye that lets me sneak in without issues."

"I thought that it would be the perfect place for us to get together and discuss what has taken place. After all, I take it that you have a lot of questions about what has happened," Mr. Morix said. His gaze hardened, and I could see the strain hiding just beneath the surface. He shook his head soon afterwards. "Where should we start?"

"What have you been doing this entire time?" Yuri questioned, her expression painted with something that looked like grief. "We were wondering what you've been up to, but I guess now it makes sense... You were trying to make sure that everything went smoothly involving Oracle. After all, everything was on the verge of coming out, and that's not something that we can exactly afford."

Mr. Morix nodded. "You are correct... At first, I didn't know what had happened, but when I saw the identification card... I knew. That was a message. Candles have always been a quiet distress signal for us, you know. It's something that nobody would expect. If we're on the phone and think something is wrong, we bring it up. It was her way of saying that something had gone wrong, and I came here to meet with her as soon as I got the chance. The necklace being left was a sign that she was alive at the very least. It was left in a precise position that couldn't have been possible just by accident. I came here once that fact had been figured out, and then we talked about what the plan was," he began. 

"The culprit was unknown. You didn't know who the one responsible was, and she didn't know either. That meant that you had to try and figure it out on your own, but that's difficult to do if the culprit isn't coming back for you to latch onto," Yuri murmured. She shook her head and sighed. "I didn't realize that our original suggestion would wind up being as correct as it was..."

"Chrysalis told me that the man with the white hair had attacked her. He didn't know that she was still alive since he was in a hurry to get out of there before anybody saw him. She pretended to be dead until he was gone, and then she planted the card and the necklace for me to find. From there, we met and began to plan what was next," Mr. Morix continued. "That was how we came to the conclusion that she was going to mask as a witness. Nobody had seen anything as far as she was aware, and she was correct in believing that. She was going to try and guide everyone in the right direction even if she didn't feel safe with saying out in the open that she had been attacked. The culprit would find a way to figure out that she was still alive if she told too many people, and then he would have returned to try and finish the job."

"Chrysalis has never had much faith in the legal system," I remarked with a shake of my head. "That was one of the primary reasons that the Oracle project was established to begin with. There were many problems with the legal system that made you and Chrysalis think that there was nothing you could do but take action for yourself."

"Exactly," Mr. Morix confirmed. "She didn't have confidence in the police force to protect her regardless of if she was an important witness or not. I have to admit that I felt much the same way. As soon as the plan was created, we decided to power through and make sure that we had a way of luring the culprit out into the open without revealing the truth that she had survived."

"Most of the time, culprits return to the scene of the crime as a way of covering their tracks. In case that didn't happen, there was a failsafe system, and that was why Ms. Lesa was created," Victoria realized. "We haven't seen any signs of the man with white hair since the investigation has begun, so I suppose that it was for the best that she decided to do something like this..."

"The lack of witnesses didn't help the situation in the slightest. Nobody saw anything, and nobody discovered that anything had happened at all until Lily arrived at the agency to open up for the day," Mr. Morix said softly. "We realized that we didn't have any other options if we wanted to lure the culprit out into the open. After all, the rest of the world wouldn't know that the witness hadn't actually been present. The culprit would be aware of such though, and if you ask me, he's out there even now."

"He has to be," Yuri agreed. "But I don't think that it completely worked... The culprit is still out there, and the one behind the false alias is in just as much danger as we feared from the beginning. That's a problem."

"The culprit will be able to be identified by the victim though, and that has to count for something," Victoria pointed out. "Plus, he's going to know things that he shouldn't be aware of, and that's something that we all need to be sharp about when the case goes back to court. I'm positive that we're going to find the clues that we're looking for as soon as we can drag him out of hiding... He has to be out there still, and I'm hoping that all of this won't have been for nothing."

"I'm hoping that this will go somewhere too," I confessed. "I can certainly understand why all of this was done. It's been convoluted thus far, but the point of it was to try and draw the culprit out of hiding with something that they would have known is blatantly wrong. The one who attacked the victim would know that there were no witnesses because he was present at the scene of the crime, but nobody else would be aware of that. If he mentioned something of that nature or otherwise showed signs of knowing something that he shouldn't have, then that would help your endeavors."

"Chrysalis still has no clues about who did this, by the way," Mr. Morix reminded us. "All that she knows is that he had white hair and pale skin. She can identify him based on a photo, that much she's confident of, but describing him otherwise... That's a bit more of a struggle for her. The culprit's motives are still unknown since the two of them, as far as I'm aware, had never met before. If they had met at some point, the encounter was so brief that Chrysalis forgot about it, and forgetting is not something that Chrysalis does often, let me tell you."

"I feel like we can put together at least something about the motive," Yuri sighed. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence that Oracle was the one who was attacked. I feel like the culprit knows something... Well, a little something. I don't think that the culprit is aware of who she is specifically, but he thinks that Ms. Liyle is involved, hence why she was attacked. Chrysalis has probably been left out of his suspicions up to this point, but it's still something for us to keep in mind as we move into the next stage of this investigation."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think that Yuri is right on that," I agreed. "I bet that the culprit is at least somewhat aware of who Oracle is, and that's why she was attacked. Why else would the culprit go after her without having any previous encounters with her? If that isn't the motive, then there has to be something else that we aren't aware of, but this is at least a start... It's going to be impressively difficult to keep something like this a secret if that is the motive though."

"We have to try," Mr. Morix said firmly without a beat of hesitation. "I didn't want to say right off the bat that I knew what was going on with this case because there was still a lot that we had to work out in order to make sure that everything ran smoothly, but... I guess there's no way of hiding it now. Eileen Liyle was an experimental alias, and she hasn't been in circulation for a long time. Chrysalis hasn't seen much of a need to make use of her up to this point, so we only told the people who absolutely had to be aware of what she was up to. That's why Ghastly, Polly, and Sora were aware of the truth. They were anxious throughout the case because they weren't sure of what had happened. Chrysalis and I were doing so much scrambling to try and cover our tracks that we couldn't be open about it yet, but we were always planning on saying something at some point."

"I see... That makes a lot of sense in hindsight," I murmured. "The four of you were involved with the establishment of the project all those years ago, so it makes sense that they would be the first ones to hear about major decisions like this. I know that you were planning on opening up about it later down the line, so I'm not going to ask you to justify yourself on that front."

Mr. Morix nodded his confirmation. "If we were going to have this plan work without any issues, we had a lot of effort to put in. It was important that we set up something that would hopefully lure the culprit or anybody who knew the culprit out of hiding, and we thought that something so openly false would be the best way to do that... I suppose that we were wrong in our assumptions, and our gambit fell through when the culprit didn't return to see what the cause of the contradiction was," he sighed. 

"If you're still as clueless about the culprit as you are, then I think that we've got quite the uphill battle ahead of us," Victoria commented as she rubbed nervously at her lower arm. "I don't know howe we're supposed to figure this out if not even the victim is aware of who could have attacked her. The culprit must have had a motive that would work even without the two of them ever crossing paths, but I don't know what that would even consist of aside from the Oracle project."

"And that barely makes sense when you think about it!" Yuri cried out as she made a dramatic show of throwing her hands into the air above her head. "It's not like just anybody would be able to find out something like this. In fact, it would be nearly impossible for a regular person to hear about this sort of thing... The only people who ever figured out the truth were either led to it or were told explicitly."

"We were led to the truth two years ago during the Interpol case and the trials that led up to it, for example," I recalled, and Yuri nodded her agreement. "If there was really so little interaction between the victim and culprit, then that makes it hard for us to pin down a motive. In fact, we don't even have a way of saying for sure how much he even knows about Oracle. For all we know, this is a completely obsolete line of reasoning since the motive was completely unrelated to this."

"If you want my opinion, we should focus our attention on making sure that we're able to speak with the victim as soon as possible," Victoria pointed out. "Regardless of the name that she goes by, she should be able to do at least a little something to help us as far as the progression of the case is concerned."

"I agree," Yuri nodded. "Where is she now, Mr. Morix? I have to say that I find it rather suspicious that the two of you aren't together given that you've been the ones trying to make sure that all of this runs smoothly behind the scenes..."

"She's at the hospital getting the injury on her leg checked out," Mr. Morix explained. "I have to say that I'm glad she's finally having that examined. I was worried about it from the start, but she was right in saying that it had to stay quiet until after the culprit had been exposed."

"Then let's get to it," I declared. The others nodded, and we began to make our way out of the evidence room and then the prison as a whole. This case had taken a turn for the unexpected, but that wasn't going to stop us from finding the truth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Case plot twist hours baby
> 
> -Digital


	54. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 14

**November 22**

**Blackgate Hospital**

**2:45 PM**

**Yuri Rinko**

Our arrival at the hospital was, admittedly, something that bothered me. I felt as if I wasn't going to be able to concentrate no matter how hard I tried, and I spent our entire walk up the stairs to the proper floor fidgeting excessively. I couldn't figure out how to keep myself from getting stressed about the whole situation, so I eventually opted for simply counting the tiles of the floor that I passed over. It didn't do much to help my stress levels, but it at least gave me something else to concentrate on.

This case had thrown us one curve ball after another up to this point, I had to confess. I had no way of seeing this coming in the beginning, though I suppose that none of us would have known that it was going to end this way. We were simply walking towards what we assumed was the truth, and then we uncovered something that changed the way that we had been looking at everything. Mr. Morix had taken the original identification card and created a copy that likely seemed far more realistic and wouldn't be found out as a fake. After all, Eileen Liyle never existed in the first place, and keeping that secret had to be his first priority. 

In a way, such a duty had fallen to all of us. We knew that we were being dragged into something large the second that we started to associate with Oracle, and there was no way for us to go back after having come so far. I wasn't entirely sure about how I was supposed to feel about it, if I was being honest. The idea that the victim and witness were the same person, and Oracle's aliases on top of that, was dizzying to me. It certainly wasn't a twist that I had seen coming from the start of the case.

And yet, it made all too much sense. It was why Ms. Liyle was able to get into the agency. She was just another fragment of Oracle's cohesive identity, and that meant that she was able to share all of the perks that the other dimensions had. Getting into the agency was pathetically easy for someone as heavily involved with it as she was. She had been given a method to enter the building from the start, and it seemed blatantly obvious looking back that this was the picture that the situation painted. Chrysalis' notable absence throughout the investigation should have given me a clue, and I couldn't help but wish that I had asked a few more questions about where she had been throughout all of this.

Still, there wasn't anything that we could do about it. We couldn't change the past, so we would just have to press on and do what we could to solve the case with what we already had at our disposal. The victim and witness were the same person, and they had both been aiming to drag the truth out of the culprit. The one responsible for the attack was still unknown, and that duty to discovery fell to both myself and the others on the defense team. We had to figure out who the man with white hair was in truth. I wished that I had more answers for all of this, but I was tragically lacking in it.

"After we talk to her, we need to go and speak with Detective Umber. I don't know where she's going to be, but we have to try and track her down," Deirdre suddenly commented, snapping me out of my trance of counting hospital floor tiles. I figured out pretty quickly that the 'her' she was referring to was obviously Ms. Lesa, Ms. Liyle, and Chrysalis. You know, because they were all the same person. Heaven above, this was getting nauseating to think about. I was used to Oracle and all of the little intricacies that came with it, but some of it still frustrated me from time to time, if I was being perfectly honest.

"We'll have more than enough time for that," Victoria assured me when she saw the panic flicker across my face. "Besides, I doubt that we're going to be able to get much more out of the victim than we already have. She isn't going to be in much of a talking mood, especially given that this is what she specifically wanted to avoid having happen."

When we arrived at the room in question, I could see that Detective Wattson was standing outside. Detective Erikson was beside her. The two waved us over, and I walked over to them as soon as I could get through the busy hallway. It seemed that there were quite a few people either passing through the same area or attempting to speak with Ms. Liyle. I doubted that they would see much success given the circumstances, but I supposed that I couldn't fault them for trying.

"I had a feeling that I would see you two here," Mr. Morix commented, breaking his lengthy streak of silence that had started after we arrived back here. I could tell that all of this was putting significant pressure on him. Of course it was. He had worked so hard with Chrysalis to keep something like this from happening, and yet, there they were, forced to rely on outside parties when they had no choice in the matter.

Detective Erikson nodded. "She was awfully insistent in saying that she wanted the two of us to stand outside her room for at least the first few hours. After a while, we agreed to it. Detective Umber wound up offering to take over for us at the scene of the crime. While I don't know how to respond to something like that, I will say that I'm glad that she did come forward. It certainly gives us an added bit of time so that we can come here and look after the witness," he replied.

"Of course she would want to trust those two," I murmured, closing my eyes in thought. It made all too much sense that Chrysalis would aim for having two familiar figures look after her. She had always been wary of the legal system despite her attempts to change it. She wouldn't trust the system with anything, only ever placing her faith in individuals who had proven themselves worthy of it. Detective Erikson and Detective Wattson were people that she was more than familiar with, so it was natural that she would prefer having them present throughout the remainder of the investigation.

"We're here to speak with the victim, as a matter of fact," Deirdre told the two detectives. I pulled myself out of my musings to see that she had taken a step closer to address them directly. "We have a few questions to ask her about all that has taken place."

"You can go inside," Detective Wattson told us, a light smile appearing on her face. "As far as I know, she's alright with having you four as visitors. She was pretty clear about saying that she didn't want many people to visit her, but when we brought up you all... Well, let's just say that she didn't protest anywhere near as much."

I gave a brief glance over in Victoria's direction, and she returned the favor a few moments later. This was all starting to make so much sense, and I almost hated the fact that we hadn't caught sooner all over again. I told myself to stop focusing on the past a moment later, and I concentrated on the creaking of the hinges as the door to the room was pushed open. A few moments later, I was walking into the room, and I was vaguely aware of Detective Erikson wishing us the best before the door was pulled shut a few moments later.

I glanced over to the bed and saw that Ms. Lesa was stretched out on the mattress at the center of the room. Her tapping fingers made it clear that this was the last place that she wanted to be, but she did her best to shelve her upset when she noticed that she had company. Her expression slipped into something detached and passive, and I realized with growing bitterness that this was a mask that Chrysalis wore often when she was particularly unhappy about something. The light brown hair and glasses made all too much sense too, and I hated that she was a good enough actor to keep us from figuring it out until the moment was right. It would have spared us a lot of work even if it went against her wishes.

"Nice to see you four," Ms. Lesa said simply, her voice monotone and low. She wasn't safe enough to drop the facade, and I could tell that she wasn't going to be removing the mask until well after the case had been resolved and left in the past.

"How are you doing?" Victoria questioned. She retrieved a chair from where it was sitting up against the wall before pushing it over to Ms. Lesa's beside and sitting down.

Ms. Lesa let out a small snort. "As well as I can be," she replied. She wasn't even trying to act like a different person at this point, and even though her vocal patterns were slightly different for the sake of maintaining the illusion for the world at large, pieces of Chrysalis were starting to shine through. She gestured to her leg, and I noticed that it had been propped up on a pair of pillows. The length was covered in white bandages with a few speckles of red. "The damn cut reopened a while ago. Somehow, it hurts even more now than it did before."

"Can you tell us about what happened during the crime?" Deirdre asked, her voice intense but still caring. "We want to do everything that we can to help you, but we're going to need as many details as possible in order to make significant progress."

Ms. Lesa looked away, refusing to meet any of our eyes. "I... I was going to the agency early because I had to pick something up. I was going to be doing work outside of the building for the day developing my skills. The item in question isn't important at this point, so there's no reason to go snooping for it, but if you really want to know, it was a book," she began. "I didn't notice that anybody was behind me until after we were inside the agency, and then he attacked. He slashed at my leg so that I couldn't escape. That was after he cornered me. From there, he put his hands on my throat, and... Well, you can imagine what happened after that."

"But he only knocked you unconscious instead of actually killing you," Victoria concluded. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Mr. Morix shudder at the implication, and I bit down on my lip anxiously on his behalf.

Ms. Lesa nodded her response. "Yeah. He never bothered to come back and check that I was actually gone, so he just packed up and left. I guess that he didn't want to risk being found. He left me there though, so if you ask me, he was trying to do something with my supposed body. Maybe he was hoping that the one arrested for it would be from the agency. Well, he certainly succeeded on that front," she snorted.

"Do you know of any other details on the matter?" I asked. "You know, other notable features about him such as clothing or small markings. Anything could help at this point. The prosecution is surely doing everything that they can to figure out who did this, but we can use all of the details that we can get, you know?"

Ms. Lesa hesitated before shaking her head. "If I noticed anything, it left my mind the instant that I passed out. I have a few flashing images in my head, but it's kind of hard to retain information when you're trying not to die of strangulation, you know?" she replied. Her voice remained dry and sarcastic, though I knew that it wasn't aimed directly at any of us. Instead, it was frustration targeted at the one who had gone out of their way to attack her in the first place. This was the last thing that any of us could have expected to happen, and it certainly wasn't sitting well with anybody involved with the case.

"At least you'll be able to figure out who did it if you see a picture. I'm willing to call that a benefit for sure," Victoria pointed out. "We might not have any ideas right now, but there has to be a way for the truth to come to light. If the prosecution can find the picture of the man, then that should make everything much easier for us."

"We'll just have to see. Maybe they'll come by later and say that they want me to check out a series of pictures," Ms. Lesa responded with a loose shrug. She looked down to her leg once again. "I swear, I want to get my revenge on him for all that he did to mess up my leg. I've been running on adrenaline for the past few days, but the second that it ran out, everything just started to hurt. It's been hard to walk on... No major muscles or veins were hit, but the pain was still enough to bug me. I mean, the injury is on my calf, so that's kind of necessary in order to move around, you know?"

"I guess that he accomplished his goal on that front," Deirdre murmured. "For now, we're going to trust your judgement when you say that you're going to be able to identify him when push comes to shove. That's all that we really have right now. I just hope that nothing bad happens while we're waiting for the trial to come tomorrow. Now is certainly our most vulnerable period of the case yet."

"And that's exactly why I didn't want this to happen," Ms. Lesa sighed. "There are all sorts of scoundrels both in and out of the police force. If somebody tries to break in here, I'm not going to have anywhere to run. I was hoping to act as bait to get the culprit out here to show their face, but I don't want to be the bait when I have no safety net. I want the man to come out of the shadows, not kill me the second that nobody is looking. I know that this was the only way for you to uncover the truth behind the case because the culprit didn't show himself again, but... Damn it, I just wish that he could have crawled out of his hole. I wanted to be the one to pin him down. I don't know why this happened, but I wanted to at least fix it for my own peace of mind."

"I guess that we're just going to have to beat the culprit at his own game before he can do anything else," I pointed out. "If he's going to be the source of all our issues, then we'll fight back in every way that we know how. Besides, all of this fuss has got to be more than enough to get the culprit's attention, so we're just going to have to use that to our advantage. Let's watch as he comes out of the shadows because of the way that this case has been going."

"The fact that he's been so notably absent is concerning, to say the least," Deirdre murmured. "I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he holds no true connection to the victim outside of the crime. He didn't have a reason to reach out to her before all of this started, and even with the investigation underway, he's trying to keep his distance as much as possible."

"It certainly wouldn't surprise me, but I don't know why any of this is happening," Ms. Lesa said quietly. "Nobody should have wanted to do anything like this. It just doesn't make sense. If he suspected something of me, then you would have anticipated him to go somewhere larger. There really isn't a reason to attack when there would be other more effective methods to taking me out of the picture of whatever grand design he thought I was going to interfere in."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. When Ms. Lesa turned to me, I frowned and looked down at the ground. Recognition bloomed across my face a few moments later. "Ah, I get it... You mean that if he thought that you were a certain someone, he wouldn't have wasted his time going after you directly. It would have been a lot easier to simply expose you to the media instead of following through with this plot that wouldn't have made it clear to anybody who you were or what you were trying to do." I didn't mention it openly, but the way that I stared pointedly at Ms. Lesa made it clear that 'a certain someone' was Oracle in my predictions. I got the feeling that she was able to tell either way, and her face remained passive all the way through my miniature declaration.

"That's what I'm thinking about too... There has to be another reason for all of this happening. I don't know what it is, but the culprit has to be doing this for another reason that we aren't aware of right now," Ms. Lesa replied with a nod of agreement. She reached one hand up to touch at her throat, and I realized that she was still trying to hide her face to the best of her ability. I had to confess that it certainly made sense given the circumstances. After all, she was trying to keep her true identity a secret while still pulling both Detective Erikson and Detective Wattson in closer so that they could keep an eye on her. To say the least, this was a stressful series of events, and I was glad that it wasn't me at the heart of it. I wouldn't have been able to take all the pressure from various sources.

"If the culprit has a motive outside of what we thought, something involved with Oracle, then what could it possibly be?" Victoria questioned. "We've been operating all this time under the assumption that the culprit was doing this because he managed to figure something out that he shouldn't have. Granted, we didn't know how he would have accomplished such a thing given the circumstances, but we thought about it anyways... I wonder why all of this happened if that wasn't at all a factor in the attack. It doesn't seem to me like it was part of the mindset that went into all of this, so just what was the culprit's reasoning for leading an attack this way?"

"I have no idea," Mr. Morix confessed. "But I can say that there were minimal options in the matter as far as what we could do. The identification card that was left at the scene of the crime at first was a temporary one that we were only using until a better one could be created. It was false, and it was clear at only a first glance that there was something off about it. We had to go into overdrive to make sure that nobody found out about everything that had been taking place behind the scenes of this case. Just trust us when we say that there was a lot more to it than anyone could have expected."

"The culprit is the real person to blame for all of this," I announced boldly. "He definitely needs to be knocked down a few pegs. I just wish that I had any ideas at all about where to start as far as showing him what we're made of is concerned. We don't even know what his name is, and the details that we have on his physical appearance are minimal. I guess that all we can do now is hope with everything we have that the prosecution is able to come through for us and say that they found a lead in their own investigation."

"The fact that the victim and culprit don't know each other has to be important. We know for sure that there's no connection between them, and that feels incredibly significant," Deirdre pointed out. "We simply need to figure out why the culprit would want to go after her in the first place. It's a strange line that we walk here, but we have to see if we can pin down a motive. Even if we find the culprit, we aren't going to be able to get him to confess until we can find proof that he would have wanted to do something this awful to the victim. We need something that ties them together."

"But we can't do that unless we can figure out who the culprit is," I sighed throwing my hands up into the air before slamming them down against my head. I shook my head with a groan of frustration that seemed to echo in the hospital room. "I don't get any of this! It feels like we should have more of a lead than this by now, but instead, all that we really know is the general physical appearance of the culprit!"

"He hasn't returned to the scene of his crime though, so that has to mean that he's confident that none of this is going to blow up in his face," Ms. Lesa commented with a snort. "I don't know how much that really counts for in the grand scheme of things, but it's something to keep in mind at the very least. There are no other witnesses for this case as far as I'm aware. I took up the alias of Razi Lesa in the first place because I knew that nobody else had seen anything related to the crime. It was the only choice that I could see, as much as I hate to say it. Right now, we need either a picture of the culprit for me to identify or a damn miracle. Maybe we'll need both given the fact that we're also going to need a motive to make it clear that the culprit did it at all. My testimony might not be enough to convince everyone since I've been shown as an unreliable witness thanks to the stunt of pretending to be a witness."

"It isn't as if you had much of a choice in the matter," Victoria pointed out. "The fact that you wanted to find the culprit without revealing yourself to the police certainly left you in a bind, and this was the best way to potentially lure out the one responsible for all of this. I just wish that it had worked out better... We've got all the loose ends of this case tied up and sealed away, but it still does make you wonder just how much we really need to figure out. If we don't even know about our questions to begin with, then how can we find answers to them?"

"The only real lead that we have behind this case is that Detective Umber is still acting strangely, but as far as I'm aware, this has been an issue for quite some time now. For all we know, it isn't directly related to this case at all since it could be seen in her demeanor before the attack took place," Mr. Morix commented. "We're going to have to at least try and talk to her. We know where she's going to be, and that's a helpful place to start. From there, we'll hopefully be able to press the truth out of her. If she does know something, we need to hear about it as soon as possible in order to find the culprit before something bad does happen the way that Ms. Lesa feared from the outset of this whole disaster."

"I guess that I should go on and leave you to look for her then," Ms. Lesa commented. I could see something similar to exhaustion creeping over her eyes as her gaze dropped to her leg. "I mean, it's not like you're going to be able to hang out around here forever, and you never know when she's going to take off and leave you clueless for answers again."

"Do you think that you're going to be okay without us?" Victoria asked. "I know that you've been worried about everything, and I don't want to leave if you're just going to wind up stressed about everything that's been happening."

Ms. Lesa hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. Don't worry about it. Just focus on talking to Detective Umber. I wish that I was able to do more to help you, but I'm holed up in here until I'm feeling up to moving around again. The nurse said that I put a bit too much strain on my leg with all my constant activity, so I'm going to need time to relax and wait for it to recover. I hate the fact that I'm stuck here since I want to help, but... I guess that I can't do anything to make it better," she sighed. "Just go out there and do what you can to find the culprit. I'm going to be in the trial tomorrow, and this is going to be our last big chance to find the one responsible for this."

"That's right... Trials have been limited to three days to keep things from going on for too long," I whispered. I had been distantly aware of it for a long time, but it hadn't ever been an issue like this until this case came around. We either had an inkling of what to do going into the third day or had something vague to push us in the right direction. That was more than what we got this time around given the awful circumstances, and we were going to try to figure it out before we wound up behind the bench again. Granted, that was going to be easier said than done, but what other choice did we have?

"Don't worry about this," Mr. Morix cut in. "I'm confident that they'll be able to find the lead that we need. If they can't figure it out, then we're going to have to place our faith in the prosecution. I'm sure that they're going to come by soon enough. For now, I'm going to leave you three to focus on the remainder of the investigation. I want to stay here and make sure that nothing else happens. I don't think I would be able to leave now even if I wanted to."

I nodded my understanding. Mr. Morix had always been a protective older brother, and I wasn't about to pretend otherwise. Of course he would want to stay with Ms. Lesa. He needed to make sure that she was going to be okay even if it kept him from being part of the investigation. I was glad that he was able to trust the rest of us with what was left of the case, and I was determined to not let him down. If he was going to stay behind and leave this to us, then we were simply going to have to uncover something in his stead. He had explained everything that we needed to know, and that was what mattered most.

"We'll get going then," Victoria began. She rose to her feet and gave a gentle smile in Ms. Lesa's direction to make sure that she was feeling at least somewhat better. Ms. Lesa returned the gesture as I moved to the door with Victoria and Deirdre.

"Hold on one more moment," Mr. Morix said next. "I want you to consider one other thing in this case. Did you ever notice how the case seemed to be rushed as far as the arrest was concerned? The blood on the floor might not have been directly indicative of a crime, and that means that there must have been somebody pushing for this to be considered an attack rather than simply an accident. It was hasty and rushed, and somebody must have been pushing it onwards."

I mulled over his words for a moment, and I realized that he had a point. We were going to have to find some proof of the fact that somebody was there for all of this, supporting what was happening from the sidelines. I didn't know where to start as far as finding the truth behind that was concerned. The answers would hopefully come soon enough, and I was going to be sure to follow through with what happened after the truth came to light.

"Thanks for the advice, Mr. Morix," Deirdre told him. Her fingers curled around the doorknob as she waved to him and Ms. Lesa over her shoulder. Victoria and I both followed in her footsteps, and we left behind the hospital room soon afterwards. We bid Detective Erikson and Detective Wattson a brief farewell before starting to walk out. 

I didn't know how this was going to end up in all honesty. None of it really made all that much sense to me, but we were going to have to figure something out if we wanted to free Lily from the detention center. The culprit had to be out there, and I was determined to figure out who it was. Everyone was counting on us to uncover the truth, and I knew that this was what we needed above all else. The culprit wouldn't know that they were trapped until it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Online school is bad wow
> 
> -Digital


	55. Turnabout Masquerade, Part 15

**November 22**

**Morix Law Offices**

**4:30 PM**

**Victoria von Graye**

I found myself feeling rather strange as I returned to the agency. Everything just felt off somehow, but I knew what the reason was despite my best attempts to ignore it. It had to be due to everything that we had learned over the course of the past day. The trial and its aftermath had been a chaotic matter, and it grabbed me away from my regular life and pulled me into something that I didn't know how to describe. It was a mess, to say the least, and I didn't know how I was supposed to respond to it. I guess that numb was the best way to describe my initial reaction given that I hadn't actually responded internally quite yet. I knew about what had happened, but it was hard to actually tell myself that it was real and not just some twisted fantasy that I had conjured for myself. 

"We need to talk to Detective Umber as soon as possible," Yuri announced, pulling me away from my thoughts. I nodded my agreement and began to scan the area with my eyes. She had to be around there somewhere. It was just a matter of pinning down where she was precisely. I found myself frowning soon afterwards when locating Detective Umber proved itself to be more difficult than I expected. 

Yuri suddenly gasped and began to tap on my arm rapidly. I glanced down and noticed that she was pointing towards a large hat that stuck out among the crowd of investigators, and I knew that had to be Detective Umber. Her hat was large enough to be seen from a decent distance away, and I didn't know of anyone else who would ever even dream of wearing something that big on their heads. I didn't know how she was able to keep herself balanced with all that extra weight on her shoulders, but I decided that it was best to not think about. It was probably only going to give me a headache in the end anyways. 

We approached Detective Umber carefully, and I noticed that she was deep in conversation with Prosecutor Umber. I hadn't been expecting the man to be there as well, but given that they were twins, I supposed that it wasn't as far-fetched as I would have thought. He wasn't on the case, but then again, neither was she, so this was part of the deal, it seemed. 

"I don't think that we should be doing this anymore," Detective Umber was saying in a low voice. She had stepped away from the rest of the crowd, and Prosecutor Umber was listening to her carefully. "It's been so long since we started, and... I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. If you ask me, we're betraying everything that we should be against. You've noticed it, haven't you? He's changed, and that should be our cue to pack up and get out as quickly as we can. What if something happens when we aren't paying attention? This is an awful situation for us to be in, and we have to escape it."

For a long moment, Prosecutor Umber was silent, and I knew that neither one of them had noticed us quietly approaching yet. "You're sure of this? You don't think that you're mistaken?" he finally asked when he managed to pull himself together. There was something strangely urgent to his voice that struck me in an odd way, and my stomach tied itself into a knot as soon as I heard how intense his words were. Just what was he talking about?

Detective Umber nodded furiously as soon as she could. "Yeah, I'm positive. I saw him walking out at the time that he would have had to if he was going to do something like this... I even checked the clock because I wondered why he was leaving so soon. There aren't any other possibilities as far as I'm aware. He did this, and we have to make sure that everyone knows it. His goals aren't worth it. There's a chance that they never were. What loyalty do we have to him anyways? Some distant connection that we were never given the chance to explore? It isn't enough for me," she told him. 

Prosecutor Umber was silent for a long moment before he nodded. "You're right. If this is what you think is for the best, I'll come with you. I've had my doubts for a while, but I was afraid of what would happen if I said anything. Fine. If you think that this is what we need to do, then you can consider me at your side," he replied. 

For another handful of moments, they were both silent, seemingly contemplating their thoughts about everything. I took a step back and gestured for the other two I was with to do the same. Deirdre and Yuri followed my lead, and then we began to walk forward once again. I cleared my throat to get their attention, making it seem as if we had just appeared. I didn't want them to know that we had been listening in. Whatever they were discussing, it must have been serious, and the last thing that I wanted when we were on the path to figuring everything out was for them to clam up and decide that it wasn't worth it to open up to us about everything. 

"Looks like we have company, Abilene," Prosecutor Umber told his sister in a voice that was quiet yet intense. He nudged her carefully and glanced up to us with a strange detached fire in his eyes. "What is that you want? You're the attorneys on this case, aren't you?" He was so defensive all of a sudden, and I assumed that it was because he thought we had overheard something despite our attempts to hide such a truth. 

"We are, as a matter of fact. We heard that a few new people had appeared at the scene of the crime, and we decided to see if we could learn anything from them," Deirdre explained, keeping her voice as level as possible. She was just as calm as always, and that was certainly a relief given how panicked I was at the thought of everything that had taken place. 

"Ah, I see," Detective Umber commented with a light nod. "So... What is it that you want to know?" She began to rock back and forth on her feet, and I could tell that it was her way of passing the time so that she didn't have to think about the conversation she had just shared with her brother. 

"If you have any information for us at all, please tell us," Deirdre continued. "We just returned from visiting the victim. It sure is strange and unexpected that she wound up being the same person as the witness. I take it that you're acquainted with such a truth given that you've been at the crime scene for a few hours at least, yes?"

Detective Umber nodded before swallowing dryly. "Yeah... We do know about it," she finally managed to say. "It wasn't anything that we saw coming either... It's... It's a lot to take in all at once." Her voice was filled with dejection, and I could see her looking down at the ground deliberately to escape our pressing gazes. If her conversation with her brother wasn't evidence enough that she knew something, this was proof that she was trying to hide something. 

"Is there anything that you think could help us with the investigation? Even if you think it's small and won't mean much, it could be the deciding factor in helping us to figure out the truth," I piped in. I was praying that they realized that this was our way of pressing them in the right direction regarding what we wanted to know. They clearly knew something that we weren't aware of, and it must have had something to do with the man that had been on their minds a few moments prior. 

Detective Umber hesitated and glanced up to her brother. His gaze was hardened, and he shook his head. "That isn't important for you to know at the moment. We're taking over the crime scene for the leading detectives, and that's the only vital thing you need to be aware of," he told us defensively. "If I were you, I would back away from the crime and focus on other things. After all, you have a long battle ahead of you in the courtroom."

"I suppose you could say that," Deirdre went on casually. "We need to find a way to figure out who the culprit is, but we still don't have any ideas as to who it could be. The man with white hair has done a great job of evading us up to this point. It really does make you wonder where he could have wandered off to in the time since the attack, hm?"

Detective Umber began to fidget anxiously with the hem of her jacket, something that was small enough to be unnoticed by most but still large enough for me to zero in on it. I watched her fingers carefully before prying my gaze away from them to meet her eyes directly so that she wouldn't realize what I was doing. She nodded carefully. "Yeah... I guess so," she remarked with an anxious laugh. "I don't know what could have happened with him though. I don't think that either one of us do, right, Anthony? It's a real... Conundrum."

Prosecutor Umber looked ready to sigh in frustration for a moment before he simply shook his head and shrugged. "I guess that it is strange," he finally agreed. "I think that we should leave you to your investigation. We don't know all that much about the case itself, so you would be better off looking around on your own terms. We're only here because we need to look out for the scene of the crime for the detectives behind the investigation since they can't be here. It isn't as if we have an easy way to get our hands on the important information about this case."

He was deflecting, and I could tell from a mile away. My eyes narrowed, and I forced a smile on my face to keep them from getting suspicious. "Thank you for the help anyways," I told the two before leading Deirdre and Yuri away. Neither one of them said anything, seeming to realize that we weren't going to be getting any information out of them even if we wanted to learn more. Detective Umber was clearly suffering over some form of guilt, but the truth behind what exactly was upsetting her to such a degree continued to elude us, and all we could do was really wait until she was ready to talk about it. We didn't have a way of forcing the truth out. 

But we could sure as hell discuss it. After I was sure that nobody was listening in on our conversation, I looked to both Deirdre and Yuri. "They're definitely hiding something. I can't say for sure if they know anything about the culprit, but I think that there's something about this case that doesn't sit well with them. If I had to guess, it's a similar sensation to what happened with the previous case," I told the two confidently. "We don't have any exact evidence of it aside from their general anxiety, but I can tell that there's something going on here that we aren't seeing quite yet."

"They were talking about a man. I think that it's a bit too coincidental that Detective Umber was saying a man had left at the perfect time when we're looking for a culprit who just so happens to be a man," Yuri commented with a deep frown. "We have to find a way to see how the pieces there come together. If you ask me, that's going to be the way that we figure out what's happening here."

I nodded my agreement. She certainly had a point there. I couldn't think of any other outcomes, and even if we didn't have any deliberate evidence that they were involved with the culprit somehow, it seemed clear as day what the truth was. We had one extra piece of information that would help us to see the grand picture behind this case, and that was enough for me. Well, I certainly would have liked more, but given how starved for information we were, this felt like getting a thousand dollars worth of candy. I didn't know how we were going to find the truth behind how this fit into the equation, but I was confident that it would all come out soon enough. 

"We should probably leave it there for now," Deirdre said a few moments later. "I don't know what else we can even do at this point. Tomorrow, we're surely going to hear from the victim of the case, and that might do us a little bit of good. Today's session of court was cut short before we could hear the full story, and I think that could start to point us in the right direction. If we have to, we can say that we think Detective Umber and Prosecutor Umber know something, and that could be all we need to say in order to get everyone on our side so that they'll have to testify. That would make everything a lot easier on us."

"If we can hear about what they know, then we're going to be at an advantage," I agreed. "Granted, we still don't know what that exactly consists of, but I'm confident that we're going to figure it out soon enough. For now, all we can do is press on with what we do know and hope that's enough for us to unravel the truth. It isn't all that much, but it's something, and that's fine with me. I mean, we've been clueless for so long. Finding out the truth about the victim really did change everything, huh?"

"It doesn't seem like they're planning on defending the person in question... And yet, they still got so cagey about it when we asked..." Yuri whispered before letting out a sigh. "I guess we'll simply have to see what comes next. For now, I'm ready to go home and crash. I know that it's still the afternoon technically, but I'm going to need to sleep for a week after all of the stress that today has brought me."

I laughed my agreement before bidding the other two farewell. This wasn't an easy case to unravel, but I was still going to do what I could. I owed as much to the others involved with it. The truth was going to come out one way or another. Everyone was counting on that much, and this was our last chance to reveal everything. It was now or never, and I was going to make sure that it was the first option of the two!

**November 23**

**Defendant Lobby No. 6**

**9:30 AM**

**Yuri Rinko**

The following morning presented itself as a paradox to me that I absolutely detested. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and hide under the covers until after this miserable mess had drawn to a close, but I knew that wasn't going to help anybody. If I was going to figure out what was happening, I was going to have to get up and face the day with everything I had regardless of how awful that sounded. This was going to be my best chance to start understanding what was going on, and even if I hated the mere concept, I was going to have to try. There was too much riding on this case for me to even think of backing down. 

When I arrived at the courthouse, my full dread began to settle into my stomach. I liked to think that I was a hopeful person most of the time, but this case was really starting to make me anxious. I enjoyed looking on the bright side of things since it offered me with new motivation to face each day, but this case... It was grating on my nerves, and I hated that I didn't know what I was supposed to do in order to face it. I despised the fact that I was going to have to put up with this. 

The lack of information was starting to bug me all over again. I had been feeling pretty good about the case when I left Deirdre and Victoria the day before, but since then, my fears had settled in my stomach and left me feeling like I was going to be sick. How were we supposed to figure out the truth behind this case when we still didn't have any ideas about who the culprit was?

I glanced around the defendant lobby, praying that I would catch sight of someone who would be willing to listen to my woes. I found Lily, Felicity, and Sky together, and I walked over to them with a bright smile on my face. "Hey, you three," I greeted them. My grin soon turned into something awkward and nervous as I shook my head and shrugged. "I guess that this is the part where I apologize for us not being able to come and see you at the detention center yesterday. Everything got to be kind of overwhelming when we got into the thick of the case, and it sort of distracted us."

"You don't need to apologize," Lily assured me. "Besides, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be like that. I mean, so much came out all at once during the trial yesterday... I don't know how you were going to find the time to come and see me, in all honesty." She let out a small laugh that sounded far more composed than she actually seemed to be feeling, and I felt my stomach twist all over again. This case really was a disaster through and through, huh?

"The victim and the witness being the same person... It's still weird for me to think about," Felicity confessed. "I mean, who in the world would immediately jump to using a false identity when something goes wrong? It seems like a strange choice to make, but then again, I don't have any false identities, so what do I know?" She punctuated the question with a laugh, and I looked away from her to keep from showing how unfunny her comment was. She didn't realize the full context, so it wasn't as if I could blame her, but it was still strangely uncomfortable given what had taken place over the past day. It had only been a day. That was somehow even more jarring to think about than the tiny details that made this case so frustrating. 

Luckily for me, I wasn't forced to tell Felicity my thoughts on her remark, as Victoria and Deirdre both walked their way into my peripheral vision a few moments later. I smiled to them in relief and waved to them. "Hey there, you too," I greeted simply. "We were talking about the case. Do either one of you have any extra wisdom? Heaven knows that we can use as much as we can get."

"I've been thinking about what Mr. Morix told us when we were leaving the hospital to speak with Detective Umber yesterday," Victoria admitted. "He said that he thought the arrest was rushed since there was never an explanation for the bloodstains until after Lily had already been taken in by the police. In all honesty, the more that I think about it, the more that it just... Doesn't make sense. I mean, I know that there have been hasty arrests in the past. We've had to defend our clients from quite a few of them in the past year, but... I don't know. It's hard for me to describe, but this just feels different somehow. Do you know what I'm saying?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I do... I mean, I don't know how to say it, but I get what you're trying to tell me," I assured her as I glanced down at my feet. "Still, I don't know who in the world would have a grudge against Lily and want to have her arrested. In a way, it feels a lot like the case with Mukuro from a while ago. She was arrested even though, when you looked at the critical details of the case, it didn't make any sense that she would be a suspect. The logic fell apart as soon as you started squinting, and it seems to be the same case here... Granted, you have to do a bit more work to make it clear that there's something out of the ordinary going on, but the fact still stands."

"I have to wonder if perhaps there was somebody rushing the arrest that we aren't aware of," came a comment from Sky. "I don't exactly have any evidence for that assumption, but... If there's really something wrong like you think there is, then I trust your judgement. That would lead you to wonder who would want to do this and why... Perhaps it's the culprit somehow."

"If you think about Detective Umber's odd behavior, it seems as if this case is somehow connected with the case involving Mukuro and Nevada," I murmured. "But what could the link be? It just doesn't make sense. There was an anonymous call to make it seem as if Mukuro was guilty even though she wasn't the one responsible. In this case, the arrest was rushed as well. Detective Umber has been nervous in both cases, and that makes you think that she's aware of something that we don't know about yet... But what could it be? What could she know that would make her get so worked up about both of the cases?"

"The conversation that she had with Prosecutor Umber yesterday made it seem as if they were both aware of something involving the culprit... They were speaking vaguely, but that was the impression that I got," Deirdre chimed in. "I just wish that I knew how we were supposed to wrestle the truth out of them. Our main hope at this point is that the prosecution has managed to find some clue during their own investigation. If they haven't figured anything out, then we're going to be left to struggle throughout the rest of this case, and I somehow doubt that any of us want something like that."

I let out a groan and shook my head. "You can say that again," I muttered under my breath. "This case is complicated enough as it is. I guess that all we can do at this point is listen to what the victim has to say. I mean, I can't imagine that she won't be dragged up to the witness stand, so we're going to have to press her testimony and see if there are any other details that we can learn from her."

This, of course, came with its own complications. Mr. Morix's story from the day before about the gamble that he and Chrysalis took to bring the culprit to light had left me feeling nervous in a way that was almost sickening to even imagine. This was a huge risk, and while I could understand why they had taken it, I still hated that we were being forced to confront Oracle and all of its frustrating sidebar issues at a time like this. In a way, it made me yearn for the days of two years prior when I still didn't know the truth behind Oracle. Granted, I had been forced to uncover what was going on for the sake of an important case, but I was in the dark for a while. Things had been easier back then, though I knew that it was safer for the resolution of the case this way. It didn't fix the lingering frustration though, and I found myself wanting to bang my head against a wall more and more with each passing moment. 

"She has to have at least one new fact for us," Victoria declared, trying to sound a lot more confident than she felt. Still, I noticed the way that her voice wobbled, making it clear that she was only putting on a show to seem as if she wasn't as anxious about this case as the rest of us were. 

"All we can do is see, I guess," Sky said quietly with a shake of his head. "We don't really have a way of knowing until after we get into the courtroom and are able to hear exactly what she has to say about everything... It's annoying, but we can't change that. I hope that she has something for us too, but all we can do is wait for now... I hate not being able to do anything at a time like this."

I let out a snort to show my agreement. In fact, I was sure that he was speaking for all of us despite his claim only holding true for himself. the frustration in the air was almost palpable. This was our last chance to figure out who the culprit was and show the world about their crimes. The man with white hair had evaded our grasp until that point, but if we were going to fix this case and free Chrysalis from the constant sense of danger, we had to figure out who he was and what he wanted. This case clearly went deeper than we ever could have expected at first, and while I hated how much was involved with it, I knew that I couldn't reverse such a fact. I would just have to go with it along with the other members of the agency. It was an unfortunate truth that we had no choice but to confront head on if we wanted to keep this case from spiraling even further out of our control. 

"I'm wishing you luck."

I turned with a gasp and saw Mr. Morix walking towards us carefully. Ms. Lesa was standing beside him, her gaze glossy as she looked down at the floor. I could see that she was limping still, but Mr. Morix was doing what he could to stabilize her. Ms. Lesa didn't meet any of our gazes, but I could tell that she was trying to encourage us as well. Given how exhausting the past few days had been, I couldn't blame her for not wanting to come right out and talk to us. Plus, she was still trying to hide the truth of her identity from Felicity and Sky, so it was for the best if she didn't take any unnecessary risks. The last thing any of us wanted was for those two to figure it out when we were at such a critical moment of the case. We could put up with Oracle and its ramifications after the case ended to keep from complicating things more than we had to. 

"Thank you," Deirdre told Mr. Morix gracefully, taking control of the conversation effortlessly as usual. "We've been trying to find a solution to the problem that you posed to us yesterday. You mentioned that the arrest seemed rushed, and thinking back on it, we all completely agree. Do you have any theories on why that might be?"

Mr. Morix shook his head. "I'm afraid not... I don't have any direct ideas regarding the one responsible, but it seems clear that somebody that we haven't yet encountered is pulling the strings behind this case. Perhaps it's the culprit, perhaps it's merely someone affiliated with them," he replied. "There was someone who really wanted Lily to be arrested for this case, and that was the reason that all of this happened. There wasn't even enough evidence to say that something severe had taken place, but Lily was taken into custody anyways. If you ask me, there's a chance that this comes from somewhere in the police force."

I nodded to myself as I looked down to the ground. It made sense that the one responsible for this train wreck was in the police force somehow, but that still didn't sit well with me for some reason. Maybe it was because I was spending too much time around Chrysalis, someone who wouldn't trust an individual officer even if her life depended on it. Hell, that was part of her reasoning for following through with this whole grand gambit. 

Mr. Morix's words begged another question as well. If there was somebody in the police force trying to make it seem as if Lily was the culprit, then why would they bother? Was it a personal grudge against her, or was there something else going on that we had yet to uncover? I didn't know the answer, but I got the sneaking suspicion that we were going to figure it out soon enough for better or worse. 

"Defense! Enter the courtroom at this time!" 

I winced upon hearing the loud voice of the bailiff, and his words cut through my mind like a laser beam. It wasn't our old friend today, and I let out a sigh at this realization. Then again, it wouldn't have really changed anything regarding the outcome of the case. Things were still going to be a chaotic mess regardless of if we had an extra familiar face on our side or not. 

"Good luck," Mr. Morix told us one final time before he walked into the courtroom, Ms. Lesa trailing behind him. The rest of us followed him soon afterwards, and I bit my lip as I tried to figure out what was going on. This case was somehow getting even more complicated than before, and in all honesty, I hadn't even thought that was possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week is final trial time aaa
> 
> -Digital

**Author's Note:**

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